A crypto wallet drainer is an app, script, computer program or a set of computer instructions designed to automatically empty crypto wallets exposed to the wallet drainer (see [1-2]).
Such wallet drainers may be embedded into mobile phone apps, computer programs, legitimate websites, e-mails, sms messages, etc. Attackers rely on crafting such apps, scripts, sites, etc. that trigger greed or FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) to lure users in with promises of exclusive giveaways, airdrops, free prizes or rewards.
Most known examples of loses from wallet drainers are:
-theft of 14 Bored Ape NFTs with a total value of over $1 million, which occurred on December 17, 2022;
-a drainer posing as the SEC in 2024 (see [3]);
-an app WalletConnect on Google Play, accrued over 10,000 downloads and stole around $70,000 in cryptocurrency from victims, until it was removed by Google (see [4]);
-Venom Crypto Drainer, which drained over 15,000 wallets, stealing over $27.5 million in assets;
-Inferno Drainer, which stole over $29 million from 70,000 victims using fake NFT airdrops;
-Pink Drainer, which attacked Discord servers, leading to $3 million in stolen assets.
According to [5-6], scammers stole $494 million worth of cryptocurrency in wallet drainer attacks last year that targeted more than 332,000 wallet addresses. This marks a 67% increase over 2023 figures.
A simple way to protect your cryptos from wallet drainers is to use different virtual crypto wallets with unique wallet addresses for each case. To manage multiple virtual wallets in a secure and easy way users should use private dynamical passwords generators (DPGs).
Let us consider an example.
Helen found five new websites and three apps, which promise exclusive giveaways and airdrops.
1. Helen creates eight different virtual crypto wallets with unique addresses, using her private DPG and special converters (see [7-8]).
2. Helen uses each virtual wallet only for a single site/app.
3. Helen waits until cryptos are "deposited" into the virtual wallets.
4. Helen waits several more days after the cryptos were "deposited" into the virtual wallets to see if some of them will be emptied by wallet drainers.
5. Two virtual wallets were emptied by wallet drainers. Helen adds the fraudulent sites/apps to her black list of fraudulent sites/apps and discards the compromised virtual crypto wallets.
P.S. "Deposition" into a crypto wallet means that crypto was transferred to an address on the public blockchain, which is controlled by a private key secured/stored/generated by this crypto wallet.
References:
1. https://www.kaspersky.com/blog/what-is-a-crypto-wallet-drainer/50490/
2. https://www.blockaid.io/blog/unmasking-wallet-drainers-step-by-step-breakdown-of-a-crypto-heist
3. https://www.chainalysis.com/blog/crypto-drainers/
4. https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/first-mobile-crypto-drainer-google/
