Crypto Chaos: $12M Blown on a Copy-Paste Oopsie!

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Well, well, well! Looks like someone’s fingers were faster than their brain, and now their wallet is $12.4 million lighter! Yes, you heard it right-an Ethereum (ETH) holder just learned the hard way that “speed and convenience” in the crypto world can cost you a small fortune. Our unlucky friend lost 4,556 ETH (that’s $12.4 million, folks!) after accidentally sending it to a hacker’s poison address. Talk about a copy-paste catastrophe!

How a Copy-Paste Blunder Turned Into a $12.4 Million Nightmare

According to the hilarious (yet tragic) update from Lookonchain, the attacker crafted a fake address that matched the first and last four characters of Galaxy Digital’s real deposit address. Then, they sent tiny “dust” transactions to the victim’s wallet-basically, crypto breadcrumbs leading to a financial black hole. The goal? To make the address look legit and trick our hero into thinking, “Oh, this looks familiar!” Spoiler alert: it wasn’t.

Our victim, in a rush (because who has time to double-check addresses, right?), copied what they thought was Galaxy Digital’s address from their transaction history. And poof! $12.4 million vanished faster than a magician’s rabbit. As Lookonchain put it:

A victim (0xd674) lost 4556 $ETH ($12.4M) due to a copy-paste address mistake.

Victim 0xd674 frequently transfers funds to Galaxy Digital via
0x6D90CC…dD2E48.

The attacker generated a poison address with the same first and last 4 characters as Galaxy Digital’s deposit address…

– Lookonchain (@lookonchain) January 31, 2026

So, there you have it-a $12.4 million “oopsie” that’s got the crypto world in stitches (and the victim in tears). But hey, at least they’re not alone. In December 2025, another user lost $50 million after falling for a similar spoofed address scam. And get this-they even did a test run with $50, which the hacker used as bait. Classic!

Beware the Address Poisoning Shenanigans!

These scams are popping up like crypto weeds, and it’s time to get vigilant. Stop copying addresses from transaction history like it’s a grocery list! Verify the entire address, not just the first and last four characters-unless you’re into donating millions to hackers, of course.

One wise soul, Mark Huber, shared his sage advice: “Safety over convenience, folks! If I were sending $12 million, I’d do it in batches of $100,000.” Genius! Others suggest using ENS domains or address books to avoid these crypto clown shows.

So, next time you’re in a hurry to send a fortune, remember: double-check that address, or you might just end up starring in your own Mel Brooks-style crypto comedy. Blame it on the blockchain!

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2026-01-31 15:19