Metamask Wallet Users Warned to Be on the Lookout for Address Poisoning Attacks

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To avoid falling victim to an address poisoning attack, Metamask wallet users should abandon the practice of copying and pasting wallet addresses, the crypto wallet app’s support team has warned. . Rather, Metamask users should “get into the habit of thoroughly checking every character in an address” before sending a transaction.

Scammers exploit user negligence

Users of the Metamask crypto wallet should beware of a new scam tactic known as the address poisoning attack, which relies on “user negligence and haste above all else”, warned l team behind the cryptocurrency software wallet. The Metamask team added that while the attack method may seem innocuous, “it may as well result in a loss of funds.”

A new scam called “Address Poisoning” is on the rise. Here’s how it works: After sending a normal transaction, the scammer sends a $0 txn token, “poisoning” the txn history. (1/3)

— MetaMask Support (@MetaMaskSupport) January 11, 2023

In its January 11 statement that explains how scammers are using this new tactic to steal from unsuspecting users, Metamask’s support team said that cybercriminals and scammers often exploit common crypto user behavior, such as the copy and paste wallet addresses. While this ensures funds are sent to the correct address, the team cautioned that scammers are aware that many users are unwilling to memorize their wallet addresses. The statement said:

“Since they are so long, crypto wallet addresses are usually shortened. You may only see the first batch of characters, or sometimes you may see the initial 5-10 or so and the final 5-10 or so, skipping the middle. This is how most people recognize addresses: not by knowing every character, but by familiarizing themselves with the beginning and the end. This is the tendency that attacks poisoning.

Users must verify each character in a wallet address

According to the Metamask support team, scammers often launch a poisoning attack by sending a negligible amount to a fake wallet address that closely matches that of a Metamask wallet user. After that, the scammer will wait and hope the targeted user[s] “will inadvertently copy their address from your transaction history and paste it elsewhere”.

Since such transactions are said to be immutable or irreversible, when funds are sent to the wrong address, they are lost forever. Therefore, wallet users should take every precaution, including “checking every character”. The Metamask support team said that wallet users should try to end the practice of copying addresses from their transaction history.

Instead, wallet users should “get into the habit of thoroughly checking every character of an address before sending a transaction.”

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Terence Zimwara

Terence Zimwara is an award-winning journalist, author and writer in Zimbabwe. He has written extensively on the economic issues of some African countries as well as how digital currencies can provide an escape route for Africans.

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