A terrifying new cryptocurrency scam is leaving users trapped in wallets they thought were free money—only to see their crypto disappear into the hands of scammers.

'Free Money' Crypto Trap—How Fake Wallets Are Withdrawing Crypto?

Kaspersky, a global cybersecurity and antivirus company, detailed a new cryptocurrency scam in a blog post published on Monday, in which scammers post cryptocurrency wallet seed phrases in YouTube comments to lure unsuspecting users.

One example shared by Kaspersky describes a comment under a finance-related video that reads: “I have a question. I have USDT stored in my wallet and I have the seed phrase. How do I transfer my funds to another wallet?” The full seed phrase is left in the comment, which immediately arouses suspicion. The company explains:

This seemed suspicious: even a crypto newbie should know not to share their seed phrase with the world. We were wary, and for good reason — this comment turned out to be a scam.

The scam targets people who try to access the wallet using the seed phrase. Once in, they find thousands of dollars in USDT but are blocked from transferring the funds without first paying a small fee.

“To withdraw USDT, a small fee had to be paid in another currency: TRX (TRON cryptocurrency token). Unfortunately, the wallet did not have enough TRX, so the thief tried to transfer TRX from their personal wallet — only to discover that the tokens they transferred immediately ended up in a completely different third wallet,” Kaspersky detailed.

Kaspersky explained in detail the trick behind the scheme:

The problem is that the bait is set up as a multi-signature wallet. Authorizing outgoing transactions in such wallets requires the approval of two or more people, so transferring USDT to a personal wallet will not work — even after paying the 'commission'.

Any TRX sent to cover the fee was redirected to another wallet controlled by the scammer, leaving the thief with nothing.

Describing the dynamics of the scam, Kaspersky stated, “So scammers are impersonating beginners who foolishly share access to their cryptocurrency wallets, tricking equally naive thieves — who eventually become victims.”

The company advises cryptocurrency users to avoid accessing other people's wallets, no matter how tempting the opportunity may seem. By staying informed and practicing ethical behavior, people can protect their assets and avoid scams like this one.

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