Ethereum Denver Fake Website Used For Phishing Wallet Scam

A fake website pretending to be the Ethereum Denver conference has been used as a trap to steal Ether. The hackers used a smart contract that had already stolen over $300,000 worth of Ether.

Hackers copied the website of the well-known Ethereum Denver conference to trick people into connecting their MetaMask wallets. Blockfence , a security firm, found the fake website. Moreover, In 6 months, the scammer’s smart contract stole $300k from 2,800 wallets.

Ethereum Denver posted a Tweet to its followers to warn them about the fake website. According to Blockfence CEO Omri Lahav, the phony website prompted users to connect their MetaMask wallets by clicking the connect wallet button.

Coinbase announced Base, a new L2 (based on the Optimism L2)
L2s continue to dominate the industry
– Almost all txs in crypto are on L2s
– Almost all TVL in crypto are on L2s
– More devs working on L2s than basically every L1
Sidechains (which aren’t L2s) are a waste of time
— Sebastien Guillemot (@SebastienGllmt) February 23, 2023

If the user approves the transaction, the smart contract will perform a malicious function and steal their funds. Additionally, Blockfence’s research team discovered the fraudulent activity by monitoring further developments in the industry. According to Omri Lahav, the smart contract that carried out the scam has stolen over 177 ETH since its launch in mid-2022.

Since the smart contract was deployed almost six months ago, it’s possible it was used on other phishing websites.

Fake Ethereum Denver Website Promoted By Google Ads

Moreover, the hackers paid for a Google advertisement to promote the fake website. They hoped also to take advantage of the high search traffic leading up to the conference on Feb 24 and 25. The fraudulent website ranked second on a Google search, higher than Ethereum Denver.

In the cryptocurrency world, hacks and scams are still widespread. In 2022, over $2.8 billion of cryptocurrency was stolen through various hacking and exploiting methods.

This article conveys general information, and the opinions expressed should not be considered personal advice for any individual or specific security or investment product.