MetaMask alerts users to new address poisoning scam

MetaMask has notified its wallet users of a new type of attack called “Address Poisoning.” Through this new scam, bad actors can divert the transactions of ‘careless’ MetaMask users to their wallet addresses.

MetaMask address poisoning scam on the rise

Ethereum-based cryptocurrency wallet, MetaMask has alerted its users of a new type of scam attack named Address Poisoning.

According to the team, this new attack vector relies on user carelessness and haste. In essence, only MetaMask users who do not painstakingly crosscheck the correctness of the wallet address they are sending funds can fall victim to Account Poisoning scams.

“Since they’re very long, crypto wallet addresses are often shortened. You might see only the first lot of characters, or sometimes, the initial 5-10 or so, skipping the middle. This is how most people recognize addresses, rather than by knowing all the characters. This is the tendency that address poisoning preys on.”

MetaMask.

MetaMask has advised users to inculcate some important practices to safeguard themselves from this new scam, including thoroughly double-checking wallet addresses before sending funds, avoiding copying addresses from their transaction history, using a hardware wallet for transactions, saving their frequently used addresses to the MetaMask address book and more.

Notably, MetaMask’s notice has attracted serious criticism on crypto Twitter, with some users accusing the company of orchestrating the scams. In related news, reports emerged on Jan.11, that MetaMask creator, ConsenSys is making plans to lay off part of its workforce, as the crypto winter continues to chill the industry.