Crypto scams · 7 cases
Rigged signatures, sites and apps
Here the victim acts on their own: they sign an approval, scan a QR code, copy an address or install an extension. Everything looks official, and that is the trap. These cases show what a signature really authorizes, and why an address must be checked in full.
The hijacked clipboard
- How it works
- Pirated software quietly swaps every crypto address you copy for the scammer's. You paste, you send: the money goes elsewhere.
- Warning sign
- A pasted address that doesn't start or end like the one you copied.
- The reflex
- Check the start and end of every pasted address, and never install cracked software.
The case
The Clipboard Hijack
Three clients paid his invoices. Not a cent reached his wallet.
The trapped signature
- How it works
- A fake mint or fake site has you “sign to claim”. The signature actually gives the contract the right to take all your tokens.
- Warning sign
- A free gift to claim by signing, a request for unlimited approval.
- The reflex
- Read what you sign, and regularly revoke the approvals you no longer need.
The cases
The Unlimited Approval
A free NFT, a single signature. The wallet was drained token by token.
The Hijacked Site
The right address, the right logo, the padlock. And every signature drains the wallet.
The look-alike address
- How it works
- The scammer forges an address that starts and ends like your contact's, then slips it into your history so you copy it by mistake.
- Warning sign
- You copy an address from your history rather than from a trusted source.
- The reflex
- Check the whole address, and send a small test amount first.
The case
The Lookalike Address
Two million sent to an almost identical address. The one who saw it all vanished that same evening.
The copycat software
- How it works
- An extension or app copies the logo and reviews of the real wallet. Once installed, it drains yours.
- Warning sign
- A download link found in an ad or a message, not on the official site.
- The reflex
- Only install a wallet from the official site's link.
The case
The Rigged Extension
The right logo, thousands of five-star reviews. Then an “urgent update”.
Blind signing
- How it works
- A shared wallet's interface is hacked: the screen shows the usual transfer, but the signers approve an entirely different transaction.
- Warning sign
- A hardware wallet that shows unreadable data, or data different from the screen.
- The reflex
- Before signing, read the transaction on the hardware wallet's screen, and refuse what you cannot read.
The case
The Blind Signature
Three signers, the usual transfer, the right address on screen. And the vault drains.
The booby-trapped QR code
- How it works
- A sticker covers the real QR code on a parking meter, a menu or a poster: the payment goes to a fake site.
- Warning sign
- A sticker stuck on top, an unusual website address.
- The reflex
- Before paying, check the address of the site that opens.
The case
The Rigged QR
A fresh sticker over the real QR code. People scanned, paid, and the money went elsewhere.