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Journalist
Hassan Shittu
Journalist
Hassan Shittu
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A new crypto scam is gaining traction in the YouTube comments section, using a deceptive trick involving multi-signature wallets to lure unsuspecting victims.
Cybersecurity firm Kaspersky recently uncovered the scheme, which targets individuals who attempt to exploit shared seed phrases.
Just by leveraging the technicalities of multi-signature wallets, scammers are duping opportunists who believe they’ve stumbled upon free money.
The scam begins with an innocuous-looking comment under finance-related videos on YouTube.
Comments typically read: “I have USDT stored in my wallet, and I have the seed phrase. How to transfer my funds to another wallet?”
These messages are often followed by a complete seed phrase, giving the impression that the wallet owner is inexperienced or careless.
This might seem like a classic case of a novice mistakenly revealing sensitive information to the average viewer.
However, this is far from the truth. Kaspersky noted that multiple comments with identical phrasing and seed phrases were posted from newly created accounts.
Curiosity might tempt some users to access the wallet using the provided seed phrase.
Upon doing so, they discover a wallet filled with USDT, usually around $8,000 worth of TRC20 tokens.
However, to transfer the funds, a small amount of TRX (the native token of the TRON network) is required to cover gas fees.
This is where the scam takes its next turn.
When the would-be thief transfers TRX into the wallet to cover the fee, the tokens are immediately siphoned off to a third-party wallet.
The USDT wallet is a multi-signature wallet, meaning that outgoing transactions require approval from two or more participants.
The scammer effectively locks the funds, ensuring that any TRX deposited is instantly rerouted.
This approach plays on the greed of opportunists, transforming them into victims of their attempts at deception.
The scam targets those willing to engage in dishonest practices themselves.
How the Multi-Signature Trap Works
Multi-signature wallets are commonly used for added security, requiring authorization from multiple parties to process transactions.
In the context of this scam, the wallet is structured so that the scammer retains control over any outgoing funds.
Once TRX is transferred to facilitate gas fees, the scammer’s control over the second signature allows them to reroute the funds to another wallet.
The victim, believing they were about to walk away with thousands of dollars in USDT, ends up losing their TRX without any chance of reclaiming the wallet’s contents.
The bait-and-switch method ensures that the scam primarily targets individuals attempting to exploit what they perceive as someone else’s mistake.
Kaspersky has described this approach as a twist on traditional scams, labeling it a form of “ethical deception” that turns opportunists into unwitting victims.
While the scam relies on greed, the best defense is straightforward: do not access other people’s wallets, even if the seed phrase is public.
These types of online scams have been on the rise lately.
In a report in December 2024, blockchain investigator ZachXBT revealed that over 15 X accounts were hacked in a coordinated scam targeting Solana meme coin investors, resulting in approximately $500,000 in stolen funds.
The phishing campaign began with the attacker impersonating the X team to send emails addressing fake copyright issues.
Victims were tricked into resetting their 2FA or passwords through phishing sites, allowing scammers to take control of the accounts.
These compromised accounts promoted fraudulent Solana-based tokens, urging users to invest in fake contracts.
