Crypto Scammers Bait Thieves with Public Seed Phrases in New Scheme: Kaspersky

A new crypto scam appears to be flipping the script on thieves. By publicly sharing seed phrases, scammers set up bait wallets that entangle opportunists in a deceptive scheme designed to exploit their attempts to steal funds.

According to cybersecurity firm Kaspersky’s latest findings, scammers post crypto wallet seed phrases on YouTube comments using newly created accounts.

Initial Bait

The scheme begins with a comment under a finance-related video from someone claiming to need help transferring USDT, a stablecoin, to another wallet. They reveal their full seed phrase, essentially sharing the key to their wallet, which seems suspicious at first glance. This act of sharing a seed phrase is a red flag, as it is the gateway to accessing and controlling the funds in a wallet.

Kaspersky revealed that the comment looks something like this:

“I have a question. I have USDT stored in my wallet, and I have the seed phrase. How to transfer my funds to another wallet?”

Upon further investigation, Kaspersky said that similar comments were posted from newly created accounts, each containing identical recovery phrases and requests for assistance. The scam assumes that an unscrupulous person, rather than offering help, might take advantage of the situation. With access to the seed phrase, they can open the wallet, which might contain a significant sum of cryptocurrency – in this case, the equivalent of $8,000 in USDT.

However, the scammers have set a trap. The wallet is actually a multi-signature one, requiring multiple approvals to authorize transactions. When a thief attempts to transfer USDT, they discover that the wallet lacks enough TRX to cover the transaction fee. When the thief tries to send TRX from their own wallet, the tokens are rerouted to a completely different wallet. This clever setup ensures that even the most opportunistic thief cannot easily steal the funds.

Trap For The Greedy

Kaspersky’s investigation reveals that the scam primarily targets other criminals, tricking them into becoming the victims. By impersonating inexperienced crypto users, the scammers deceive thieves into attempting to steal funds that they ultimately cannot access.

“So, the scammers are impersonating beginners who foolishly share access to their cryptowallets, tricking equally naive thieves – who end up becoming the victims. In this scenario, the scammers are something like digital Robin Hoods, as the scheme primarily targets other crooked individuals.”