Inferno Drainer says it’s shutting down after helping steal $70M in crypto

November 27, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Inferno Drainer says it’s shutting down after helping steal M in crypto

“We hope you can remember us as the best drainer that has ever existed,” wrote the scam-as-a-service wallet drainer.

Inferno Drainer, one of the most popular crypto wallet-draining kits for hire says it is shutting down for good after helping phishing scammers steal nearly $70 million worth of crypto this year.

In a Nov. 26 Telegram post, the team behind Inferno Drainer said it was “time for us to move on.” However, it said that the files and infrastructure needed to run the wallet drainer won’t be destroyed but instead will remain active so users can make a “smooth transition” to other services.

“It has been a long ride with all of you and we’d like to thank you from heart [sic]. Unfortunately, nothing lasts forever.”

“A big thank [sic] to everyone who has worked with us,” it added. “We hope you can remember us as the best drainer that has ever existed and that we succeeded in helping you in the quest of making money.”

*Inferno Drainer’s final message to its users. Source: Telegram*

Inferno Drainer gained prominence early this year and saw increased use after the popular Monkey Drainer tool shut down. Like its peers, Inferno offered its crypto wallet-draining software and took a 20% cut of what users stole.

Since February, Inferno Drainer has stolen nearly $70 million from over 100,000 victims, according to analytics from Web3 anti-scam platform Scam Sniffer. However, the Inferno Drainer team suggested the amount stolen was over $80 million.

The Inferno Drainer team has deleted the affiliate Telegram account “mr_inferno_drainer” used for arranging its service and warned its users not to trust other drainers using its name in the future.

Blockchain security firm CertiK told Cointelegraph that Inferno Drainer was “one of the most damaging phishing kits to the community we’ve seen.”

It added there are still “plenty of providers out there” who are active, including rival Pink Drainer and Angel Drainer, the latter of which released an update on Nov. 25 to help users drain wallets on more blockchains.

Monkey Drainer, another high-profile crypto drainer that stole millions, shut down in March, saying it was “time to move on to something better.”

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Notorious Monkey Drainer crypto scammer says they’re ‘shutting down’

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certik

The scammer behind the crypto wallet draining kit even recommended an alternative and gave advice to budding cybercriminals.

The cryptocurrency phishing scammer behind some of the most high-profile and high-value Web3 thefts is claiming to have packed up shop and is “moving on to something better.”

The scammer by the pseudonym Monkey Drainer posted to their Telegram channel on Mar. 1 that they “will be shutting down immediately” and all “files, servers and devices” related to the drainer “will be destroyed immediately” and it “will not return.”

*Monkey Drainer’s full message posted to Telegram recommending an alternative service. Source: Telegram*

The scammer even gave advice to budding “young cyber criminals” saying they shouldn’t “lose themselves in the pursuit of easy money” and only those “with the highest level of dedication” should operate a “large scale cybercrime” outfit.

Monkey Drainer even recommended a “flawless” alternative service to the one they once offered named “Venom Drainer” and pointed to a Telegram account for the service that was created only a day before Monkey’s announcement.

Blockchain security firm PeckShield tweeted on Mar. 1 that Monkey Drainer scammer deposited around 200 Ether (ETH) worth $330,000 within the last day into the crypto mixing service Tornado Cash, attempting to obscure their funds. 840 ETH worth $1.4 million was still in their primary wallet.

#PeckShieldAlert Scammer #MonkeyDrainer, who runs theft schemes for multiple clients (a sort of 'scam-as-a-service') announced to shut down their service
~200 $ETH has been transferred to Tornado Cash within the last 24 hours, while ~840 $ETH (~$1.4M) sits in their main address pic.twitter.com/1lg3KLRxhk
— PeckShieldAlert (@PeckShieldAlert) March 1, 2023

Blockchain security firm CertiK also shared Monkey’s message on a Mar. 1 tweet, saying the crypto wallet-draining kit they offered is understood to take a 30% “commission” of funds stolen funds from others' use of the software.

Wallet-draining kits from other providers have copied the model, and CertiK pointed to other vendors already reporting an uptick in requests since Monkey Drainer announced the shutdown.

3/ Wallet drainer vendors have noted the payment structure Monkey introduced and have since copied

Below are a few examples that we’ve seen: pic.twitter.com/i62aU5t2pv
— CertiK Alert (@CertiKAlert) February 28, 2023

Monkey Drainer is understood to have operated since late 2022 and is estimated to have stolen up to $13 million worth of cryptocurrencies and nonfungible tokens (NFTs) since that time.

Other copycat phishing scammers and wallet-draining kits have stolen much more. A report from Web3 bug bounty platform Immunefi revealed $3.9 billion worth of crypto was lost to hacks, frauds, scams and rug pulls in 2022.

Possibly one of the single most high-profile and high-value theft by a wallet drainer in recent times was the January attack on Kevin Rose, the co-founder of the Moonbirds NFT collection.

Rose’s wallet was drained after he approved a malicious signature on a phishing website that transferred over $1.1 million worth of his personal NFTs to the attacker.

Monkey Drainer-linked scammers possibly exposed after an on-chain quarrel

January 30, 2023 Coin Telegraph

blockchain messaging

The scammer referred to their pseudonym during a blockchain message argument which may have revealed their actual identity, according to CertiK.

Blockchain security firm CertiK believes to have found the real identity of at least one scammer allegedly linked tothe “Monkey Drainer” phishing scam.

Monkey Drainer is the pseudonym for a phishing scammer(s) that uses smart contracts to steal NFTs through a process known as "ice phishing."

The individual or persons behind the phishing scam have stolen millions worth of Ether (ETH) via malicious copycat nonfungible token (NFT) minting websites to date.

In a Jan. 27 blog, CertiK said it found on-chain messages between two scammers involved in a recent $4.3 million Porsche NFT phishing scam and was able to link one of them to a Telegram account involved in selling the Monkey Drainer-style phishing kit.

Exposing Scammers

CertiK investigators uncovered two scammers, Zentoh and Kai, behind the Monkey Drainer kit

This kit is sold to prospective scammers who are looking to steal user funds using Ice Phishing

Who was involved and how? Let's see
— CertiK (@CertiK) January 28, 2023

One message revealed a person referring to themself as “Zentoh” and referred to the person who stole the funds as “Kai.”

Zentoh was seemingly upset at Kai for not sending over a slice of the stolen funds. The message from Zentoh directs Kai to deposit the ill-gotten gains “at our address.”

*An on-chain message from a person referring to themselves as “Zentoh,” upset they didn’t receive a portion of phished funds from a person they address as “Kai.” Image:* *CertiK*

CertiK deduced the joint wallet was the address that received the $4.3 million in stolen crypto. The firm added there is a “direct link” between the joint wallet and “some of the most prominent Monkey Drainer scammer wallets.”

*The wallet address tied to Zentoh is in turn tied to numerous addresses linked to the Monkey Drainer scam. Image:* *CertiK*

Zentoh revealed in another message the pair used Telegram to communicate. CertiK found an exact match for the pseudonym on the messaging app and identified it “to be running a Telegram group that sells phishing kits to scammers.”

The company found numerous other online accounts possibly linked to Zentoh, including one on GitHub that posted repositories for crypto drainer tools.

If the links between the accounts are legitimate, it reveals the identity of a French national living in Russia.

Cointelegraph reviewed accounts potentially related to the person and found public accounts that seemed to be interested in cryptocurrencies. Cointelegraph contacted the person but did not immediately receive a response.

Cointelegraph will not publish the name of the person due to privacy concerns.

Crypto wallet-draining phishing scams have unfortunately been used to great effect recently.

The co-founder of the Moonbirds NFT collection, Kevin Rose, fell victim to such a scam that lead to over $1.1 million worth of his personal NFTs being stolen.

The crypto wallet of the influencer known on Twitter as “NFT God” suffered a similar fate after they downloaded malicious software from a Google Ad search result, with ETH and high-priced NFTs pilfered from the wallet.

monkey drainer