Binance’s CZ warns crypto community about emerging scam
Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao warned his followers on X — formerly Twitter — about a tricky and increasingly popular scam targeting the crypto community in which fake wallet addresses are used to defraud users during transactions.
The scheme generates addresses with the same starting and ending characters as the user’s original address. Once the mirrored address has been generated, the scammer sends the target dust transactions that will reflect on the victim’s transaction history. If the victim copies and pastes an address from one of the dust transactions, the funds will be sent to the scammer.
According to CZ, a well-experienced crypto operator fell victim to this scam on Aug. 1, sending cryptocurrencies worth $20 million to a dust address. The operator noticed the error right after the transaction and requested Binance freeze the Tether (USDT) before it reached the scammer.
I want to share this (luckily) unsuccessful, but very clever and close scam incident from yesterday . Saved $20m. Hope it may also save you one day.The scammers are so good now they generate addresses with the same starting and ending letters, which is what most people check… https://t.co/DFpdX8aNay
The scam could be avoided by using a blockchain domain, such as the Ethereum Name Service. Blockchain domains are similar to email addresses, allowing users to identify wallets using regular words rather than a long string of letters and numbers. Binance users can purchase domains through the platform.
Furthermore, security specialists do not recommend users copy and paste addresses from applications to transfer funds. Users are also advised to use strong, unique passwords for crypto accounts and enable two-factor authentication on applications.
The timely
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