"Phantom Users Targeted Again: New Phishing Attack Steals Private Keys"

Phishing attacks targeting users of the Solana-based crypto wallet Phantom have been reported, with attackers attempting to steal private keys through fake update pop-ups. The web3 scam detection platform Scam Sniffer warned users on Feb. 6 about scammers connecting to real Phantom wallets and tricking users with a fake "update extension" signature request. If the victims approve the request, a prompt appears asking them to input a seed phrase, which, if entered, would grant scammers full access to the wallet, allowing them to drain it.

This is not the first time Phantom users have been targeted by phishing attacks. In late January, Scam Sniffer warned users about pop-ups on malicious websites that mimic the appearance of Phantom's interface and prompt the user to enter their wallet seed phrase for a fake connection request. To identify malicious pop-ups, Scam Sniffer suggested right-clicking the links, as phishing pages block right-clicking, while real Phantom wallet windows will not restrict the action. The platform also advised checking the URL, as genuine Phantom pop-ups show "chrome-extension" as part of the link, which scam web pages cannot mimic.

Phantom wallet usage has been steadily increasing amid the rising popularity of Solana-based memecoins. According to DefiLlama, Phantom's 24-hour revenue from fees has been around $470,000 over the past day, putting it ahead of Coinbase Wallet. Phantom daily revenue spiked to an all-time high of $3.6 million on Jan. 19. Phantom claims to have surpassed 10 million monthly active users and more than 850 million total transactions in 2024. On Feb. 6, the platform launched multi-currency support in 16 different currencies.

On Jan. 17, Phantom announced it had raised $150 million in a Series C funding round led by venture capital firms Sequoia Capital and Paradigm, valuing the firm at $3 billion. Earlier in the month, Phantom suggested it would launch a token airdrop to complement its soon-to-be-released social discovery feature.