{"id":22118,"date":"2023-03-01T20:53:23","date_gmt":"2023-03-02T04:53:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coinnetworknews.com\/notorious-monkey-drainer-crypto-scammer-says-theyre-shutting-down\/"},"modified":"2023-03-01T20:53:23","modified_gmt":"2023-03-02T04:53:23","slug":"notorious-monkey-drainer-crypto-scammer-says-theyre-shutting-down","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coinnetworknews.com\/notorious-monkey-drainer-crypto-scammer-says-theyre-shutting-down\/","title":{"rendered":"Notorious Monkey Drainer crypto scammer says they\u2019re \u2018shutting down\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The cryptocurrency phishing scammer behind some of the most high-profile and high-value Web3 thefts is claiming to have packed up shop and is \u201cmoving on to something better.\u201d<\/p>\n

The scammer by the pseudonym Monkey Drainer posted<\/a> to their Telegram channel on Mar. 1 that they \u201cwill be shutting down immediately\u201d and all \u201cfiles, servers and devices\u201d related to the drainer \u201cwill be destroyed immediately\u201d and it \u201cwill not return.\u201d<\/p>\n

Monkey Drainer\u2019s full message posted to Telegram recommending an alternative service. Source: Telegram<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The scammer even gave advice to budding \u201cyoung cyber criminals\u201d saying they shouldn\u2019t \u201close themselves in the pursuit of easy money\u201d and only those \u201cwith the highest level of dedication\u201d should operate a \u201clarge scale cybercrime\u201d outfit.<\/p>\n

Monkey Drainer even recommended a \u201cflawless\u201d alternative service to the one they once offered named \u201cVenom Drainer\u201d and pointed to a Telegram account for the service that was created only a day before Monkey\u2019s announcement.<\/p>\n

Blockchain security firm PeckShield tweeted on Mar. 1 that Monkey Drainer scammer deposited around 200 Ether (ETH<\/a>) worth $330,000 within the last day into the crypto mixing service Tornado Cash<\/a>, attempting to obscure their funds. 840 ETH worth $1.4 million was still in their primary wallet.<\/p>\n

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#PeckShieldAlert<\/a> Scammer #MonkeyDrainer<\/a>, who runs theft schemes for multiple clients (a sort of ‘scam-as-a-service’) announced to shut down their service
~200 $ETH<\/a> has been transferred to Tornado Cash within the last 24 hours, while ~840 $ETH<\/a> (~$1.4M) sits in their main address pic.twitter.com\/1lg3KLRxhk<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 PeckShieldAlert (@PeckShieldAlert) March 1, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Blockchain security firm CertiK also shared Monkey\u2019s message on a Mar. 1 tweet, saying the crypto wallet-draining kit they offered is understood to take a 30% \u201ccommission\u201d of funds stolen funds from others’ use of the software.<\/p>\n

Wallet-draining kits from other providers have copied the model, and CertiK pointed to other vendors already reporting an uptick in requests since Monkey Drainer announced the shutdown.<\/p>\n

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3\/ Wallet drainer vendors have noted the payment structure Monkey introduced and have since copied<\/p>\n

Below are a few examples that we\u2019ve seen: pic.twitter.com\/i62aU5t2pv<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 CertiK Alert (@CertiKAlert) February 28, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Monkey Drainer is understood to have\u00a0operated since late 2022<\/a> and is estimated to have stolen up to $13 million worth of cryptocurrencies and nonfungible tokens (NFTs) since that time. <\/p>\n

Related: <\/em><\/strong>Monkey Drainer-linked scammers possibly exposed after an on-chain quarrel<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Other copycat phishing scammers and wallet-draining kits have stolen much more. A report from Web3 bug bounty platform Immunefi revealed $3.9 billion worth of crypto was lost<\/a> to hacks, frauds, scams and rug pulls in 2022.<\/p>\n

Possibly one of the single most high-profile and high-value theft by a wallet drainer in recent times was the January attack on Kevin Rose<\/a>, the co-founder of the Moonbirds NFT collection.<\/p>\n

Rose\u2019s wallet was drained after he approved a malicious signature on a phishing website that transferred over $1.1 million worth of his personal NFTs to the attacker.<\/p>\n