Key Takeaways:
- Jameson Lopp warns of rising Bitcoin address poisoning scams mimicking familiar addresses to deceive users.
- Nearly 48,000 suspicious transactions were detected between July 2023 and January 2025, highlighting an ongoing threat.
- Lopp calls for better wallet interfaces and user vigilance to combat these sophisticated attacks.
Jameson Lopp, chief security officer at Bitcoin custody firm Casa, has raised concerns about a growing scam in the crypto world known as address poisoning.
This tactic involves attackers creating Bitcoin addresses that mimic the beginning and end of legitimate addresses found in a user’s transaction history, tricking them into sending funds to the wrong destination.
My latest research, presented yesterday at the @MITBitcoinClub Expo, delves into a relatively new type of attack we're seeing occur on the Bitcoin blockchain.https://t.co/i1YIMGZ4Sm
— Jameson Lopp (@lopp) April 6, 2025
In a February 6 post, Lopp detailed how these attacks began appearing on the blockchain in July 2023 and have since increased in frequency.
He analyzed data showing nearly 48,000 potentially poisoned transactions occurred between July 2023 and January 2025.
After a brief pause, the scam has resumed activity.
Lopp warned users to remain vigilant and carefully verify the full destination address before making transactions.
He also called for improved wallet design that clearly displays complete addresses, reducing the risk of such fraud.
His warning highlights the rising sophistication of cyber threats in the cryptocurrency space and stresses the importance of security awareness and technological safeguards in protecting users from evolving social engineering attacks.