Wallet Drainers Stole Over $4M From Solana Users in the Past Month

• According to Scam Sniffer, wallet drainers have stolen over $4 million from Solana users in the past month.
• Scam Sniffer noted that over four thousand users lost funds to the wallet drainers in a widespread phishing attack.
• According to the anti-scam platform, scammers employ anti-simulation techniques to prevent wallets from showing balance changes.

According to Scam Sniffer, a Web3 anti-scam platform, sophisticated Solana wallet drainers have stolen over $4 million from Solana users in the past month. In a thread on X (formerly Twitter), the anti-scam platform noted that over four thousand users lost funds to the wallet drainers in a widespread phishing attack.

According to Scam Sniffer, it first noticed a Rainbow Drainer after one of the victims reported an airdrop phishing incident, after which it alerted users to beware of the ongoing fraudulent exercise. In a warning post on December 16, 2023, Scam Sniffer noted that scammers employ anti-simulation techniques to prevent wallets from showing balance changes. Hence, victims unknowingly lose their assets by signing malicious transactions.

The anti-scam platform noted that Rainbow Drainer stole about $2.14 million from 2,189 victims, according to data from Dune Analytics. It also identified another scammer, Node Drainer, which appeared in a Christmas day phishing campaign and has stolen over $2 million in less than two weeks.

Scam Sniffer further noted that an address associated with Node Drainer converted stolen USDC to ETH via AllBridge, making over $1 million in profit. It cited that, unlike Ethereum, Solana phishing often involves direct transfers, exploiting weaknesses in transaction simulations.

Meanwhile, the anti-scam platform described the blockchain ecosystem as a dark forest where scammers are lurking. It warned users to protect their digital assets by staying vigilant and informed. 

Solana attracted many users in the last quarter of 2023, with its price rallying significantly. The layer-one blockchain solution gained over 570% between September 27 and December 25, 2023, according to data from TradingView. SOL traded for $97.79 at the time of writing, having pulled back from its Christmas day high of $125.97.