Phishing scammers are targeting users of the Solana-based crypto wallet Phantom by attempting to steal private keys through pop-ups that spoof legitimate update requests.
Web3 scam detection platform Scam Sniffer posted to X on Feb. 6 to warn that scammers were connecting to real Phantom wallets and attempting to trick users with a fake “update extension” signature request.
If the victims approve the request, a prompt appears asking them to input a seed phrase, which, if entered, would allow scammers full access to the wallet to drain it.
In late January, Scam Sniffer warned Phantom users about pop-ups on malicious websites that mimic the appearance of Phantom’s interface and prompt the user to enter their wallet seed phrase for a fake connection request.
To identify malicious pop-ups, Scam Sniffer suggested right-clicking the links since “phishing pages block right-clicking,” while real Phantom wallet windows will not restrict the action.
The platform also advised checking the URL since genuine Phantom popups show “chrome-extension” as part of the link, which scam web pages can’t mimic.
“Phantom’s popups act like system windows: you can minimize, maximize, and resize them,” Scam Sniffer said. “Fake ones are trapped inside the browser tab.”
Phantom wallet usage has been steadily increasing amid the rising popularity of Solana-based memecoins.
Phantom’s 24-hour revenue from fees has been around $470,000 over the past day, putting it ahead of Coinbase Wallet, according to DefiLlama. Phantom daily revenue spiked to an all-time high of $3.6 million on Jan. 19.
Related: Crypto scammers hard shift to Telegram, and ‘it’s working’ — Scam Sniffer
Phantom claims to have surpassed 10 million monthly active users and more than 850 million total transactions in 2024. On Feb. 6, the platform launched multicurrency support in 16 different currencies.
On Jan. 17, Phantom said it had raised $150 million in a Series C funding round led by venture capital firms Sequoia Capital and Paradigm, valuing the firm at $3 billion.
Earlier in the month, it refuted rumors suggesting it would launch a token airdrop to complement its soon-to-be-released social discovery feature.
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