A fake website of the popular Ethereum Denver conference is the latest phishing target of a red-flagged smart contract that has stolen more than $300,000 worth of Ether (ETH).
The popular conference saw its website duplicated by hackers this week to trick users into connecting their MetaMask wallets. According to Blockfence, which identified the fraudulent website, the smart contract accessed more than 2,800 wallets and stole more than $300,000 in the last six months.
Another day, another scam.
This time the scammer targeted the @EthereumDenver website. Blockfence is here to protect you and fight scammers together: The scam contract was marked as “High Risk” by our ML algorithm and our partners at @GoplusSecurity pic.twitter.com/Jdtoz2Bgu4— Blockfence (@blockfence_io) February 20, 2023
Ethereum Denver also shared a warning to its followers on Twitter about the malicious website.
Hello fellow Booficorns!!
Be aware that there is a FAKE ETHDenver website that asks you to connect your wallet.
“Go-ETHDenver” is not us. Please report the site! pic.twitter.com/1dt4hYmfvO
—ETHDenver (@EthereumDenver) February 20, 2023
Blockfence CEO Omri Lahav told Cointelegraph that users were asked to connect their Metamask wallets via the usual “connect wallet” button. The website requests a transaction which, if approved, performs the malicious function and steals users’ funds.
The Blockfence research team identified the incident while tracking different trends in the industry. Lahav said that the smart contract running the scam had stolen more than 177 ETH since its implementation in mid-2022:
“Since the smart contract was implemented almost 6 months ago, it may have been used on other phishing websites.”
The hackers had gone as far as paying for a Google ad to promote the malicious website’s URL, confident that search trends were high, with Eth Denver on February 24-25. The fake website appeared second in a Google search, above the real one. ETH Denver website.
As previously reported, hacks and scams continue to be common in the cryptocurrency ecosystem. In 2022, over $2.8 billion worth of cryptocurrency was stolen last year through a variety of different hacks and exploits.
