Scam Sniffer warns Google ad typo risk drains crypto wallets
According to Web3 security firm Scam Sniffer, a misleading sponsored ad on Google has been found to drain crypto wallets of unsuspecting users searching for Sony’s blockchain, Soneium.
In an Oct. 22 post on social media platform X, Scam Sniffer highlighted that users searching for "someium" instead of "Soneium" could inadvertently click a phishing link leading to a malicious website.
Scam Sniffer reported that this particular ad targets users who accidentally mistype “Soneium” in their Google searches.
When clicked, the link redirects victims to a website containing a crypto-draining tool.
“Phishing always happens when you’re not paying attention,” the security firm cautioned.
The firm shared a phishing link that featured a slight deviation in the domain suffix from the actual Soneium site.
Cointelegraph was unable to replicate the exact results of the phishing link during its investigation, with the linked website appearing as an unfinished page for a British-based radiology service.
Scam Sniffer noted that scammers utilise methods to keep these harmful sites hidden from search engines like Google.
“It’s hard to see it unless you are targeted, and that’s why Google couldn’t know [about] it,” Scam Sniffer explained.
Soneium is an Ethereum-based (CRYPTO:ETH) Layer 2 blockchain introduced by Sony Blockchain Solutions Labs, a collaboration between Sony and blockchain company Startale Labs.
Soneium entered its testnet phase in August 2024.
In September, Scam Sniffer reported that phishing scams had led to the theft of over $46 million in crypto from 10,800 victims.
In the third quarter of 2024 alone, it was estimated that $127 million in cryptocurrencies were stolen, with Ethereum wallets being the primary targets.
The firm previously flagged that more than $4 million had been stolen from phishing websites promoted through Google in late April.
