Prisma Finance

Base

Ethereum layer 2 Base has seen an 18-fold increase in cryptocurrency funds stolen from phishing scams in March compared to January figures, recent data shows.
Approximately $3.35 million was stolen from phishing scammers on Base in March alone, <a href="https://dune.com/scam-sniffer/march-2024-scam-sniffer-phishing-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">according</a> to blockchain anti-scam platform Scam Sniffer.
It marks a 334% month-on-month increase from <a href="https://dune.com/scam-sniffer/february-2024-scam-sniffer-phishing-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">February</a>’s&nbsp;tally of $773,900 and a massive 1,880% spike compared to <a href="https://dune.com/scam-sniffer/january-2024-crypto-phishing-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">January</a>,&nbsp;when Base only lost $169,000 from phishing scams, according to monthly Dune Analytics data compiled by Scam Sniffer.
Binance’s BNB Smart Chain observed a similar surge in phishing scams in March, Scam Sniffer <a href="https://x.com/realScamSniffer/status/1774963886565056995" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">noted</a> in an April 2 X post.
Approximately $71.5 million was lost to phishing scammers across all chains from 77,529 victims — beating out January and February’s tallies of $58.3 million and $46.8 million, respectively.
<figure>
 <img src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2024-04/d1af9b7b-823c-4a67-a7e8-95b8af6463f8.png">
 <figcaption style="text-align: center;">
 Source: Scam Sniffer
 </figcaption>
</figure>
Scam Sniffer told Cointelegraph it expects even more phishing attacks on Base this month as assets and active users on the chain continues to increase.
Scam Sniffer <a href="https://x.com/realScamSniffer/status/1774963922514346423" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">noted</a> that phishing links from fake X accounts remain a “primary tactic,” detecting over 1,500 incidents in March.
<figure data-ct-non-breakable="true">
 <img src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2024-04/8b73b3db-ea0a-41de-895f-eaadece40776.png" alt="" title="">
 <figcaption style="text-align: center;">
 Source: <a href="https://x.com/realScamSniffer/status/1774963922514346423" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">Scam Sniffer </a>
 </figcaption>
</figure>
The rise in Base phishing scams comes amid a&nbsp;<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/coinbase-network-base-tvl-doubles-month-memecoins-drive-adoption">recent memecoin craze on the Coinbase-backed chain</a>. It has helped push Base’s total value locked above $3.2 billion — marking a 370% increase so far in 2024, <a href="https://l2beat.com/scaling/projects/base" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">according</a> to L2Beat.
Cointelegraph reached out to Scam Sniffer for comment.
<h3 id="phishing-scams-may-be-up-but-hacks-are-down">Phishing scams may be up, but hacks are down </h3>
The surge comes despite crypto hack thefts falling 48% to $187.2 million in March, <a href="https://x.com/PeckShieldAlert/status/1774701695895027920" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">according</a> to an April 1 X post from blockchain security firm PeckShield.
Related: <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/crypto-hacking-incidents-decline-in-q1-2024-immunefi">Crypto hacking losses decline in Q1 2024 — Immunefi</a>
The figure took into account the $98.8 million that was recovered over the month.
Almost all of those recoveries came from the $97million Munchibles exploit. Cryptocurrency sleuth ZachXBT was among those <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/zachxbt-onboarded-custodian-return-funds-defi-exploit">onboarded as a custodian</a> to recover the stolen funds.
<figure data-ct-non-breakable="true">
 <img src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2024-04/a4f0b219-9501-4fd6-b0e6-a51cc647d934.jpg" alt="" title="">
 <figcaption style="text-align: center;">
 Total losses from hacks in March. Source: PeckShield
 </figcaption>
</figure>
Meanwhile, <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/curio-smart-contract-exploit-hacker-mints-1-billion-tokens">Curio’s MakerDAO-based smart contract</a> lost $40 million, <a href="https://x.com/PeckShieldAlert/status/1774701695895027920" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">according</a> to updated figures from PeckShield and Prisma Finance <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/prisma-finance-exploited-10-million">fell victim to an $11.6-million hack</a>. The firm is currently <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/prisma-finance-540k-still-at-risk-hack-exploit-smart-contract">negotiating with the hacker</a> on-chain to return those funds. 
Magazine:&nbsp;<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/seal-911-team-white-hat-forms-fight-crypto-hacks-real-time/">‘SEAL 911’ team of white hats formed to fight crypto hacks in real time</a>

Phishing scam thefts on Base are up 1,900% from January — Scam Sniffer

Table of Contents

Cointelegraph

Other articles published on Apr 2, 2024

Watch Out: Cryptocurrency Market Will Closely Follow These 7 Major Events in April

Tether Buys 8,888 Bitcoin For $618 Million, But Why Is Price Down?

Koala Coin (KLC) vs Binance Coin (BNB) and Ethereum (ETH) Embrace the Cuddly Investment Option in...

Bitcoin Struggles to Maintain at $65K: Is a Further BTC Price Drop Imminent?

Book of Bonk | Bobo ready to Fly to the moon | Initial Lp 500Sol | Launching on April 04 at 13:...

Bitcoin Cash Investors Contemplate Sales as Market Signals Emerge

Join our free newsletter for daily crypto updates!