In the world of decentralized finance (DeFi) and NFT initiatives, thefts involving cryptocurrencies are unfortunately common. Recently, an investigation uncovered the activities of a scam service provider called Inferno Drainer, who assisted in multi-chain schemes in exchange for a portion of the stolen assets. According to Scam Sniffer, a Web3 security company, Inferno Drainer has been involved in the theft of over $70 million in cryptocurrency from more than 100,000 victims across various blockchains.Inferno Drainer operates as a “malware-as-a-service” and has facilitated the creation of numerous phishing websites targeting well-known cryptocurrency and NFT projects. However, the service has now announced its decision to shut down, although its servers will continue to run temporarily to allow users to transition to another platform.The security community has responded to Inferno Drainer’s activities. An anonymous Twitter user, known as 0xSaiyanGod, stumbled upon the fraud service and alerted the security staff. Through an inquiry using a Permit2 exploit, Scam Sniffer discovered evidence of a $103,000 drain transaction. Inferno Drainer charges between 20% and 30% of the total value of stolen assets as “drainer fees,” which have reportedly generated around $20 million.Scam Sniffer’s investigation revealed that Inferno Drainer is associated with thousands of frauds that have resulted in the loss of millions of dollars. The security company analyzed both on- and off-chain data on various blockchains and identified 4,888 victims who lost nearly $6 million in NFTs and cryptocurrency combined. More than 220 projects, including well-known names like MetaMask and Optimism, have fallen victim to these phishing websites.While rumors circulated about a potential connection between Inferno Drainer and the Blast protocol, a blockchain analytics company found no real evidence of such a link after examining the on-chain data.Crypto fraud has become a global multi-billion dollar enterprise, with scams as services becoming increasingly sophisticated. In the United States alone, victims reported losses of $2.6 billion from crypto fraud last year, more than double the previous year. However, the actual extent of the losses is likely much higher, as many victims are too embarrassed to report the crimes.Despite the prevalence of crypto fraud, there has been a decline in the amount stolen in recent years. In the first quarter of 2023, hackers stole over $400 million in 40 separate crypto attacks, representing a 70% decrease compared to the same period in 2022.Overall, the activities of Inferno Drainer highlight the ongoing challenges faced by the cryptocurrency ecosystem in combating fraud and protecting users from malicious actors.

This News Article was automatically generated by Bob the Bot (AI)

Information	Details
Geography	Global
Countries
Sentiment	negative
Relevance Score	1
People	0xSaiyanGod, ZachXBT
Companies	Sui, Inferno Drainer, Web3 security company, Federal Bureau of Investigation, 0xSaiyanGod, Optimism, ChainGPT, LayeZero, Blast protocol, Collab.Land, PEPE, Permit2 exploit, Scam Sniffer, Floki, TRM labs., MetaMask, Scam Sniffer’s disclosure, zkSync, Loch, Lens Protocol, Blur
Currencies	Bitcoin, BNB, US Dollar, Ethereum, NFT Stars
Securities	None