• Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, nearly lost 20 million USDT to a zero transfer scam.
• Zero transfer scams exploit the “TransferFrom” function in token contracts and are particularly insidious as they appear that the user initiated the transaction.
• Protecting yourself from these scams requires understanding how they work and taking proper security measures when sending assets.
What is a Zero Transfer Scam?
A zero transfer scam is an attempt to trick someone into sending assets to an address similar to one they last interacted with. This attack exploits the “TransferFrom” function in token contracts, which allows users to send assets from another person’s address so long as it is within a limit allowed by that address. In some cases, this limit is set at zero, allowing malicious actors to initiate a transaction from another user’s address without their permission.
How Does Binance Become Vulnerable?
Binance recently became victim of such a scam when it nearly lost 20 million USDT due to an experienced crypto operator being tricked by malicious actors. The quick reaction of Tether freezing the assets before they were moved enabled Binance to prevent further damage occurring.
Who Is At Risk Of These Scams?
Anyone who interacts with cryptocurrency wallets can be at risk of falling victim to these scams – even experienced industry experts can not be completely immune from them. As such, it is important for everyone involved in cryptocurrency transactions take extra steps towards security and understand how these scams work in order to protect themselves against them.
How Can I Protect Myself From Zero Transfer Scams?
In order to avoid falling victim to zero transfer scams, it is important for users to pay attention when initiating transactions and ensure that the wallet address they are sending funds matches exactly what was previously provided or used before for transfers. Additionally, users should also consider using multi-signature wallets which require more than one approval for any transaction execution as well as other common wallet protections like setting up 2-factor authentication (2FA).
Conclusion
Zero transfer scams pose a serious threat due their silent nature and ability to fool even experienced crypto operators like those at Binance . Therefore, it is essential for all cryptocurrency users understand how these attacks work and take appropriate steps towards protecting themselves against them.
