11-Year-Old Ethereum Wallet Moves $4.6 Million, Dodges Address Scam

How the trap works

The scheme relies on habit. Many users copy a recipient address from their recent transaction history rather than typing or verifying it in full. If an attacker can insert an address that looks nearly identical to the genuine one, a hurried copy-and-paste can send funds to the scammer instead.

That such a trap was prepared within minutes shows how closely automated tools monitor long-dormant wallets. A balance of this size that suddenly becomes active is an obvious target, and the setup requires little time or effort from the attacker.

Why it matters

The episode is a reminder that a wallet's age or its owner's experience offers no protection if the final step of a transfer is careless. Checking the full destination address, rather than only the first and last characters, remains the basic defence against this kind of lookalike scam.

In this case the precaution worked: the roughly $4.6 million reached its intended destination, and the bots' planted addresses went unused.