Researchers in cybersecurity claim that Monkey has served as an inspiration to several imitators. Together, he and his followers are to blame for the millions of successful scams carried out over the previous few months
Mac, a Scottish cryptocurrency fan, was surfing Twitter in November when he came across an alluring deal: a news profile he follows named Briefly Crypto was offering cheap gift cards that could be purchased on Black Friday using Bitcoin. Mac wanted to provide his parents with some hotel gift cards for Christmas after declining to give his last name due to privacy concerns.
Apple recognized the website as Bitrefill, which lets customers purchase gift cards using cryptocurrency. He recognized the Twitter account offering the offer, so he reasoned that clicking the link was secure. He chose the vouchers, linked his cryptocurrency wallet, and approved the initial transaction.
The website then asked for his consent to transmit money to a decentralized trading exchange named dYdX via a bizarre pop-up window. He launched a fraud prevention tool out of suspicion, intending to revoke the initial transaction he had approved, but it was already too late. His wallet has already had cryptocurrency worth roughly $1,200 stolen by the website.
How did this Fraud Happen?
Via a nasty fraud that is widespread in the crypto world, Mac was deceived. He was first duped into clicking on a malicious link by being phished. Next, a “drainer script”—software operating in the background of the website that stole his money—caused him to lose money. Because cryptocurrencies have become more widely accepted, any type of cryptocurrency may be stored in an ordinary wallet, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, NFTs, and memecoins. A drainer script and a successful phishing attack may quickly deplete wallets. According to Nick Bax, chief of research at the cybersecurity company Convex Labs, drainers have caused losses of between $50 million and $100 million over the past year.
What Happened to Monkey?
Researchers in cybersecurity claim that Monkey has served as an inspiration to several imitators. Together, he and his followers are to blame for the millions of successful scams carried out over the previous few months, including Kevin Rose, who lost millions of dollars in NFTs to a wallet fraud in January. Monkey unexpectedly announced his resignation from Telegram, but he left a huge legacy—and a trail of copycats—in his aftermath.
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