Ledger recently issued a warning about a new scam called “address poisoning” that is targeting cryptocurrency users. Address poisoning involves scammers sending a small amount of crypto or an NFT disguised as a voucher to a user’s wallet. The goal is to trick the user into copying the scammer’s wallet address from their transaction history and sending funds to the scam account instead of a legitimate one.
According to Ledger, these dummy transactions are designed to make users believe that they have sent funds to the scammer’s address in the past. However, unless a user initiates a transaction to one of these addresses on their own and signs the transaction with their Ledger device, no funds will actually be transferred from their account.
Scammers are using open-source software to create addresses that are similar to legitimate Ledger addresses. By creating addresses with the same first and last few characters, scammers are able to deceive users into sending them assets.
The scam has been particularly prevalent among users of Ledger Live, a popular crypto wallet management tool. To avoid falling victim to this scam, users are advised to be cautious and vigilant.
If there are any concerns that a wallet may be compromised or if a user notices a suspicious transaction, it is best to ignore the transaction and associated addresses. Users should avoid interacting with any suspicious tokens or NFTs that have been sent to them. Instead, they can hide the token or NFT collection by right-clicking on it.
It is important to note that clicking on or following a link in a malicious NFT is not enough to compromise a wallet. The primary risks to wallets include sharing a 24-word recovery phrase or signing a malicious transaction with a Ledger device. Users should refrain from engaging with any unwanted tokens or addresses and should hide them from view.
In general, users should exercise caution when dealing with any links in a wallet that could lead to scam websites attempting to steal sensitive information or authorize harmful transactions. By staying vigilant and following these tips, users can protect themselves from falling victim to the address poisoning scam.