Thieves in the Crypto World Are Turning on Each Other for Profits.

Crypto scammers have found an ingenious way to trick other criminals in the space, using a multi-signature wallet to deceive would-be thieves and make them lose small amounts of tokens.

A new scam has surfaced, primarily circulating on YouTube, that has left even seasoned scammers shaking their heads, according to a security update from Kaspersky. The scheme targets crypto enthusiasts looking to steal funds, only for them to be tricked into falling victim to the same scam they often use.

In one example, Kaspersky notes a comment where an individual asks, “I have USDT stored in my wallet, and I have the seed phrase. How do I transfer my funds to another wallet?” This wasn’t a beginner asking for help, but part of a cleverly disguised trap. The wallet contained over $8,000 in stablecoins on the Tron blockchain, and the seed phrase was part of the scam.

The key to the scam lies in the wallet’s multi-signature setup, which requires approval from multiple parties to authorize any outgoing transactions. When scammers tried to steal funds by sending Tron’s TRX tokens to the wallet, the funds mysteriously disappeared into another wallet controlled by the scammers.

The multi-signature feature made it impossible for the scammers to directly access the funds. Instead, any tokens sent were diverted elsewhere. Kaspersky explained, “Scammers are pretending to be beginners, luring other thieves who foolishly share their wallet access, only for them to be the ones scammed.”

This is not an isolated scam, with numerous similar comments from new accounts scattered across the internet, all offering the same seed phrase. Kaspersky noted that the scam appears to be targeting smaller amounts, as gas fees on most blockchains are under $10, suggesting that the fraud is aimed at wannabe thieves rather than large-scale operations.

As always, crypto criminals are quick to exploit any opportunity, and in this case, they’re making money by scamming even other criminals in the digital space.