Inferno Drainer Use by Applications Triples as Crypto Scams Surge in 2024

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The crypto market has witnessed a concerning surge in cyber crimes using the Inferno Drainer tool this year. As the price of cryptocurrencies turned bullish, decentralized applications using Inferno Drainer increased, and many scammers doubled their crypto theft efforts.

According to Blockaid, a Web3 security firm, the deployment of Inferno Drainer by malicious DApps rose to a staggering 40,000 toward the end of July 2024.

Surge in malicious dApps using phishing tool amid bullish crypto market

The number of decentralized applications (dApps) using the Inferno Drainer phishing tool has surged threefold in 2024, with around 40,000 dApps utilizing it by July, Cointelegraph reported, citing Web3…

— CoinNess Global (@CoinnessGL) August 29, 2024

Surge in Scams

The Inferno Drainer tool, known for facilitating crypto scams, has seen its usage skyrocket, particularly among decentralized applications (DApps) designed to deceive unsuspecting users.

Oz Tamir, the head of research and development at Blockaid, highlighted this disturbing trend. Based on his analysis, this figure is three times earlier this year’s.

Earlier this year, only about 800 new malicious DApps were appearing each week. However, this figure has recently ballooned to 2,400 weekly, marking a significant escalation in scam activity.

Inferno Drainer is a sophisticated phishing tool designed especially for digital asset theft. It works by luring users into approving token transfers, giving scammers access to their wallets, and enabling them to drain funds.

The tool, which reportedly shut down in 2023 after facilitating a $70 million crypto theft, has made a troubling return, becoming increasingly prevalent in the current market.

Despite its growing use, Tamir suggested that Inferno Drainer is not particularly unique among crypto phishing tools. He noted that scammers select their tools based on availability and the commission charged by the tool’s developers.

This indicates that the current surge in Inferno Drainer’s usage may be more about opportunism than any inherent superiority of the tool itself.

Meanwhile, the increase in the use of Inferno Drainer mirrors a broader rise in crypto-related scams. Blockaid’s data indicates that the average number of malicious scan results per week has climbed to 180,000, a clear sign that scammers are stepping up their efforts.

Reason for the Growing Use of Inferno Drainer

Tamir also responded to this trend. He believes it is linked to the bullish conditions in the crypto market that have attracted more users and capital into the ecosystem. This condition has, in turn, provided a richer target environment for attackers.

Moreover, the production of new blockchain networks with inadequate security measures has also contributed to this surge. As new chains are added, attackers quickly exploit their vulnerabilities, seeing these emerging platforms as ripe for exploitation.

This combination of market conditions and technological expansion has created a perfect storm for crypto scams. Inferno Drainer itself stands as chief in this wave of criminal activity.

MistTrack revealed that bad actors using the Inferno Drainer tool failed to carry out their exploits in a different occurrence. According to its X post, the attackers attempted to launder over 174 Ether, equivalent to $533,000.

Kudos to the @RAILGUN_Project team for outsmarting scammers!

They proactively blocklisted this address, preventing any laundering attempts and forcing the scammer to withdraw the funds.

It's small things like this that makes us happy. https://t.co/pUZHbxrsDA pic.twitter.com/CmgFKKh3N4

— MistTrack🕵️ (@MistTrack_io) July 10, 2024

The attempts failed due to the crypto privacy protocol Railgun’s built-in tool. This automated private proofs of innocence (PPOI) system was responsible for thwarting the attempts of these actors.

Meanwhile, according to Dune’s data, the total number of individuals affected by the use of Inferno Drainer stands at 203,088. It also provides data on the total amount stolen through this means, which is currently over $215.6 million.