Binance Warns of 'Address Poisoning' Crypto Scams

Binance has issued a warning about 'address poisoning' crypto scams, which rely on human error rather than hacking. In an address poisoning attack, scammers send small transactions from fake addresses that look similar to legitimate ones, hoping to trick users into copying the wrong address.

According to Binance, these attacks work because wallet addresses are often displayed in abbreviated form, making it easy for scammers to generate lookalike addresses. The attackers identify a target wallet with recurring transactions and send a small transaction from the fake address, which gets added to the transaction history.

When the victim wants to send funds again, they scroll through past transactions and copy what looks like the right address. If they pick the poisoned one, the funds go to the attacker.

To avoid address poisoning, Binance recommends verifying full addresses before sending funds, using address book allowlists, and doing small test transfers first.