A cryptocurrency investor has unfortunately experienced a devastating loss of $70 million worth of Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) due to an address poisoning scam.
Crypto Trader Loses Almost $70 Million
An unfortunate incident occurred where the trader mistakenly copied an incorrect address from a compromised transfer history, resulting in a loss $68.27 million worth of Wrapped Bitcoin.
As per a post on X by Scam Sniffer, a crypto detective, it has been reported that the victim mistakenly transferred 1,155.28 WBTC to an incorrect address.
In crypto trading platform, there are individuals who engage in address poisoning scams. These scammers create fake accounts using their victims' online crypto "address" and send a small amount of currency to the victim.
The intention is to trick the victim into accidentally sending money to the fake address at a later time.
Based on CoinGape, in just a matter of hours, the price of Wrapped Bitcoin skyrocketed to over $61,000 following the transaction.
This surge resulted in the value of the transferred Wrapped Bitcoin exceeding $70 million, indicating potential additional losses for the victim. Furthermore, a significant majority of the crypto trader's holdings were completely erased.
WBTC is a tokenized version of Bitcoin that represents the value of Bitcoin (BTC). Operating on the Ethereum blockchain, users can easily tap into Bitcoin's liquidity and functionality within the Ethereum ecosystem.
FBI Reports Surge in Crypto Scams
There has been a significant increase in cryptocurrency-related scams, as highlighted in the latest internet crime report by the FBI.
Last year, investors lost a staggering $3.94 billion due to crypto-related frauds, accounting for over three-quarters of the total investment scam losses for the year.
A recent study revealed that fraudulent schemes in the crypto industry resulted in a staggering loss of $75 million for investors between 2020 and 2024.
According to Business Insider, the scam begins when criminals send a text to the wrong number, using it as a means to establish trust with their targets.
Then, individuals are tricked into making fake crypto investments through small payments, only to have all contact abruptly severed once they have sent a substantial sum of money to the scammer.
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