Address Poisoning Scams Drain $1.6M in a Week; FBI Warns

Crypto users lost over $1.6M in address poisoning scams within a single week, surpassing March’s $1.2M losses. Fraudsters injected tiny transactions from lookalike addresses into wallets, tricking victims into copying malicious addresses and sending funds to scammers. Major losses included 140 ETH (~$636,500) and $880,000, with additional thefts of $80,000 and $62,000. In parallel, signature request scams netted over $600,000, including $165,000 in BLOCK and DOLO tokens. Security firms ScamSniffer and Web3 Antivirus link the surge to transaction history poisoning and address poisoning tactics. Experts advise using address books, whitelists, and verifying full wallet addresses before transfers. The US FBI has warned of fraudulent “crypto recovery law firms” soliciting unsolicited crypto payments. Meanwhile, crypto crime reached $2.5 B in H1 2025, prompting the US Treasury to add seized digital assets to a national stockpile for victim compensation. Traders should reinforce security practices and exercise heightened vigilance.