fraud Sniffer reports that phishing fraud thefts on Base have increased 1,900% since January.
Since January, fraud schemes on Base have increased by nearly 1,900%, coinciding with an expansion in the total value secured on the Ethereum layer-2 chain.
Recent data indicates that the amount of cryptocurrency funds misappropriated through phishing schemes on Ethereum Layer 2 Base increased by an 18-fold rate in March compared to January.
In March alone, phishing fraudsters on Base plundered an estimated $3.35 million, as reported by the blockchain anti-fraud platform Scam Sniffer.
According to monthly Dune Analytics data compiled by Scam Sniffer, this represents a significant 1,880% surge in comparison to January, when Base lost a mere $169,000 to phishing schemes. This represents a 334% month-on-month increase from February’s total of $773,900.
A similar increase in fraud schemes was observed on Binance’s BNB Smart Chain in March, according to a post by Scam Sniffer on April 2 X.
Phishing fraudsters caused an estimated loss of $71.5 million from 77,529 victims across all chains, surpassing the figures from January and February, which stood at $58.3 million and $46.8 million, respectively.
Phishing connections from bogus X accounts continue to be a “primary tactic,” according to Scam Sniffer, which detected more than 1,500 incidents in March.
🧵 [5/7] Fake Twitter accounts posting deceptive comments remain a primary tactic for scammers. Every day brings popular projects for them to mimic. In the past two weeks, ScamSniffer detected up to 1,517 fake accounts. pic.twitter.com/b0T45dqV9s
— Scam Sniffer | Web3 Anti-Scam (@realScamSniffer) April 2, 2024
The recent surge in base phishing fraud coincides with the memecoin frenzy on the chain sponsored by Coinbase. L2Beat reports that it has contributed to Base’s total value surpassing $3.2 billion, representing a 370% increase so far in 2024.
Cointelegraph contacted Scam Sniffer for comment.
Although phishing schemes are active, breaches are inactive.
Despite a 48% decline in crypto breach robberies to $187.2 million in March, according to an April 1 X post by blockchain security firm PeckShield, the amount of activity has increased.
The amount reflected the $98.8 million in recoveries that occurred throughout the month.
Vendors of a novel utility that weaponizes the Raspberry Pi
The $97 million Munchibles operation generated the majority of those recoveries. We appointed ZachXBT, an expert in cryptocurrency espionage, as a custodian in the effort to recover the pilfered funds.
PeckShield’s updated figures show that Curio’s MakerDAO-based smart contract lost $40 million, and Prisma Finance suffered a $11.6 million compromise. The company is in the midst of negotiations with the on-chain fraudster to retrieve those funds.
