The most important fraud scheme in 2024 was the pig butchering scam, which led to crypto losses of $3.6 billion, according to an analysis by the web3 cybersecurity firm Cyvers.
By 2024, long-term fraud, which involves grooming victims over time into making substantial investments, is expected to outpace other types of crypto scams. Reports show that $3.6billion in stolen funds have been traced back to Ethereum (ETH).
The number of pig butchers is on the increase
This report shows the extent of the issue. This report comes after an FBI announcement, which estimated that pig butchering scams would cause $3.96 Billion in losses by 2023.
The report also emphasized scammers’ evolving sophistication, noting that many victims were lured through dating apps and social media platforms. Scammers built up trust with victims over a period of weeks or even months by creating fake profiles. They then convinced them to invest their money in fraudulent crypto platforms which appeared legit.
Cyvers, in response to an increase of pig-butchering scams and the need for increased education among users, recommended enhanced wallet security, as well as stricter regulation on crypto platforms. It also noted the need for real-time threat detection and monitoring systems.
Cyber-threats and recovery
Cyber attacks increased by 40% between 2022 and 2024. This resulted in a total of $2.3 Billion in damages across 165 incidents. Overall losses were 37% less than 2022 despite the increase.
Scammers targeted Ethereum the most, with nearly $1.9bn in losses spread across 67 scams. Smart contract attacks accounted for $456.2 million while an address poisoning attack resulted into 68.7 millions in theft.
In the fight against fraud, $1.3 billion was recovered this year thanks to ZachXBT on-chain investigative teams and bug bounty programmes.
The year’s first quarter saw the highest number of incidents, with 53 cases recorded. But the biggest financial losses were recorded in the third-quarter, which totaled $760 million.
The most significant incidents were a breach of DMM Exchange worth $305,000,000, caused by the compromise of its private key. Another $235,000,000 was lost to WazirX due to an attack on a wallet with multiple signatures. BingX, which suffered losses totaling $52,000,000, fell victim after a hot wallet hack.
According to the Cyvers report, access control incidents accounted for 81% of total losses even though they only constituted 41.6% all cases reported.
Ethereum, Crime, Featured and Scams The Author
Assad Jafri
AJ has been a journalist for more than a decade, and he’s been a fanatic since the 2011 Arab Spring in Yemen. He specializes in financial reporting and now concentrates on cryptocurrency.
Email @Saajthebard on LinkedIn Editor
News Desk
CryptoSlate provides a complete and contextualized resource for cryptocurrency news, data, insights and analysis. Focusing on Bitcoin macro, AI, DeFi, and Bitcoin.
Twitter Email Editor @cryptoslate Ad
Wilder World unveils revolutionary gameplay trailer
Did you know that over $140 billion dollars in Bitcoin, or about 20% of the entire Bitcoin supply, is currently locked in inaccessible wallets? Or maybe you have lost access to your Bitcoin wallet? Don’t let those funds remain out of reach! AI Seed Phrase Finder is here to help you regain access effortlessly. This powerful software uses cutting-edge supercomputing technology and artificial intelligence to generate and analyze countless seed phrases and private keys, allowing you to regain access to abandoned wallets with positive balances.