Hacker have stolen $664 million from Crypto investors in the first half of the year, a surge of over 50 percent compared to the same period in 2023.
According to The PUNCH, this information was revealed in DefiLlama’s data.
The leading aggregator for decentralized finance revealed that most of these losses resulted from phishing attacks and compromised private keys.
It pointed out that many crypto hackers are skilled bad actors, often working for cybercrime syndicates like North Korea’s state-sponsored Lazarus Group, suspected of stealing billions in crypto.
DefiLlama noted that high-powered hacking tools are not typically accessible to the numerous amateur hackers on the internet.
Nevertheless, experts are increasingly concerned about the growing threat posed by open-source infostealers, which are malicious software designed to extract sensitive financial information from victims’ computers.
These infostealers target crypto wallet passwords, private keys, and other critical data.
This year, compromised private keys have resulted in some of the largest crypto hacks, including the theft of $305 million from the DMM Bitcoin exchange.
A blockchain expert and Team Lead at SIRFITECH, Adewale Layode told The PUNCH that Nigeria has become a hotspot for cryptocurrency scams, ranking second globally in crypto adoption, just behind India.
Kayode linked the high adoption rate to the economic hardship in the country, with many people seeking alternative ways to supplement their income.
However, this environment has also become fertile ground for scammers, leading to a staggering $8 million loss to crypto scams in Nigeria alone over the past six months, he stated.
Globally, crypto scams are becoming more sophisticated, with fraudsters using multi-level marketing scams, crypto fraud, Ponzi schemes, fake ICOs, and phishing attacks to deceive victims.
The IT expert warned that scammers continually innovate, using tactics like replacement-by-fee attacks to evade detection.
Kayode stressed the urgent need for regulatory measures to tackle the rising trend of crypto scams, emphasizing that regulation is vital to protect individuals and maintain the integrity of the cryptocurrency market.
A recent report by Proofpoint researchers highlighted how cybercriminals are targeting cryptocurrency, leading to significant financial losses.
The report, titled ‘How Cyber Criminals Target Cryptocurrency’, outlined two main objectives of cybercriminal threat actors: traditional fraud and targeting decentralized finance organizations.
Traditional fraud tactics include business email compromise attacks, targeting individuals and causing financial losses.
Meanwhile, targeting DeFi organizations aims to compromise cryptocurrency storage and transactions, potentially leading to subsequent attacks.
“While most attacks require a basic understanding of how cryptocurrency transfers and wallets function, they do not require sophisticated tooling to find success,” the researchers said.
