Scammers create Blockworks clone site to drain crypto wallets

Jesse Coghlan8 hours agoScammers create Blockworks clone site to drain crypto walletsPhishing scammers have been spreading fake news of a $37-million Uniswap exploit using a convincing fake Blockworks website.2196 Total views22 Total sharesListen to article 0:00NewsJoin us on social networksPhishing scammers have cloned the websites of crypto media outlet Blockworks and Ethereum blockchain scanner Etherscan to trick unsuspecting readers into connecting their wallets to a crypto drainer.

A fake Blockworks site displayed a fake “BREAKING” news report of a supposed multimillion-dollar “approvals exploit” on the decentralized exchange Uniswap and encouraged users to visit a fake Etherscan website to rescind approvals.

The fake Uniswap news article was posted on Reddit across several popular crypto-related subreddits by seemingly compromised Reddit accounts.The fake Blockworks website (left) shows a fake breaking news story of a Uniswap exploit compared to the legitimate website (right).

The fake Etherscan website, which displays a purported token and smart contract approval checker, instead contains a wallet drainer.

Blockchain security firm Beosin reviewed the drainer’s smart contract and told Cointelegraph the attacker hopes to drain wallets with at least 0.1 Ether (ETH), worth $180. However, the drainer is incorrectly set up, as “there is no phishing transaction prompted after a wallet is connected.”The phishing website (left) compared to the legitimate Etherscan website (right).

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An age check of the domains shows the fake Etherscan site, approvalscan.io, was registered on Oct. 25, and the fake Blockworks site, blockworks.media, was registered a day later.

In an Oct. 25 X (Twitter) post, Web3 anti-scam platform Scam Sniffer showed that scammers had deployed a wallet drainer on a website cloning the crypto news outlet Decrypt.the victim signed Uniswap Permit2 malicious phishing signatures like this pic.twitter.com/NcXIotokwL— Scam Sniffer | Web3 Anti-Scam (@realScamSniffer) October 26, 2023

Scam Sniffer told Cointelegraph that the faked Blockworks and Decrypt sites are, however, run by different scammers.

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Update (Oct. 27, 1:30 am UTC): This article has been updated with further information and comments from Beosin and Scam Sniffer.# Blockchain# Phishing# Media# Scams# HacksAdd reactionAdd reactionRead moreBlockchain improves charity transparency — But is it right for everyone?Blockchain companies are creating AI chatbots to help developersSeptember becomes the biggest month for crypto exploits in 2023: CertiK