Citi Warns of Rising Ethereum Address Poisoning Scams Targeting Crypto Wallets

Global financial giant Citigroup has issued a stark warning about a surge in "address poisoning" scams on the Ethereum network. This deceptive tactic involves scammers sending tiny, worthless transactions to users' wallets. The goal is to trick the user into copying a fraudulent, look-alike address from their transaction history for a future legitimate transfer, thereby diverting funds to the scammer. Citi analysts highlight that these scams are flooding the Ethereum ecosystem, exploiting the transparency of blockchain. They emphasize that while the network itself is secure, user vigilance is critical. The report advises investors to double-check every character of a wallet address before sending any cryptocurrency, recommending the use of address book features and transaction whitelisting for enhanced security. This alert underscores the growing sophistication of social engineering attacks in the decentralized finance (DeFi) space.