- Signature phishing thefts surged 207% in January to $6.27 million from 4,700 victims, Scam Sniffer warned.
- Despite the January spike, total phishing losses in 2025 fell 83% in value compared to 2024.
- Attackers are leveraging cheaper transaction fees after Ethereum‘s Fusaka upgrade to conduct mass address poisoning campaigns.
- High wallet concentration saw two victims accounting for roughly 65% of the total stolen funds in January.
Scam Sniffer is warning of a 207% spike in signature phishing attacks this January, resulting in $6.27 million stolen from 4,700 wallets. This sophisticated scam tricks users into signing off-chain messages that secretly authorize unlimited spending from their accounts.
However, this sharp monthly increase contrasts with the broader annual trend. Total phishing losses in 2025 were down 83% in value from the previous year, according to the firm’s data.
Last month’s losses were highly concentrated among just a few victims. Two wallets alone accounted for approximately 65% of the total stolen funds through these deceptive tactics.
Meanwhile, researchers highlight address poisoning as a growing threat enabled by cheaper network fees. In this attack, scammers send tiny, fraudulent transactions to wallets using addresses that mimic legitimate ones.
Consequently, the drop in Ethereum transaction costs following the Fusaka upgrade has changed the scam’s economics. Blockchain researcher Andrey Sergeenkov found a surge in new address creation, with many receiving less than $1 as their first transaction, consistent with mass poisoning campaigns.
Therefore, wallet providers are implementing new defenses to protect users. “Rabby does pre-execution simulation and will warn you if you’re interacting with known malicious smart contracts,” said Tara Annison, head of product at Twinstake.
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