Scammer who uses phishing Monkey Drainer has stolen up to $1 million in Ethereum

This week, an alleged phishing scammer using the alias “Monkey Drainer” allegedly stole around $1 million in Ethereum (ETH) via dubious copycat NFT minting websites. ZachXBT, a well-known blockchain sleuth, was among the first to track and highlight the activity.

Longer term, the blockchain scam investigator claims, Monkey Drainer has allegedly stolen more than $3.5 million from their schemes, with “that number rapidly increasing by the day.”

Phishing scams frequently involve criminals sharing links to websites impersonating real projects or companies in order to dupe victims into handing over private information by promising a lucrative purchase or free promotion.

Four addresses, including monkey-drainer.eth, have been flagged as being related to Monkey Drainer.

When these addresses are searched on the blockchain community-driven Web3 security network Chainabuse, a long list of reports relating to airdrop scams, NFT scams, and phishing attacks appears.

Airdrop scams via the Astrobot Society discord channel, a Fake Wolf Game and Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT marketplace, and a fake Aptos Airdrop are among the reported incidents.

Web3 security group Wallet Guard also responded to ZachXBT’s Twitter thread, stating that it had “spotted several other mint sites recently created” with Monkey Drainer on the backend, including a phishing website with a fake Garbage Friends whitelist link.

Over the last few years, ZachXBT has established himself as a respected independent blockchain investigator, exposing a slew of nefarious behavior in the space.