Addresses are long and hard to read, so most people only check the first and last few characters. Scammers use exactly that.
How it works
- You send a payment to a real address you use often.
- A scammer generates an address that starts and ends with the same characters.
- They send you a tiny amount from that look alike address, so it appears in your history.
- Next time, you copy "the usual address" from your history and paste the scammer's.
Clipboard malware
A related trick: malware on your computer watches what you copy. When you copy an address, it silently replaces it with the attacker's when you paste.
How to protect yourself
- Never copy a destination address from your transaction history.
- Take the address from its source each time, or from a saved contact.
- Check the whole address, not only the start and the end.
- On a hardware wallet, compare the address on the device's screen.