A terrifying new crypto scam leaves users trapped in wallets they thought were free money—only to watch their crypto vanish into the hands of scammers.

The ‘Free Money’ Crypto Trap—How Fake Wallets Are Draining Crypto

Kaspersky, a global cybersecurity and anti-virus company, detailed a new crypto scam in a blog post published on Monday where fraudsters post crypto wallet seed phrases in Youtube comments to lure unsuspecting users.

One example shared by Kaspersky described a comment under a finance-related video stating: “I have a question. I have USDT stored in my wallet, and I have the seed phrase. How to transfer my funds to another wallet?” The full seed phrase was left in the comment, prompting immediate suspicion. The company explained:

This looked suspicious: even a complete cryptocurrency beginner should know better than to share their seed phrase with the entire world. We were wary, and for a good reason — this comment turned out to be a scam.

The scam targets those who attempt to access the wallet using the seed phrase. Upon entering, they discover thousands of dollars in USDT but are blocked from transferring funds without first paying a small fee. Kaspersky detailed: “To withdraw USDT, a small fee must be paid in another currency: TRX (the TRON cryptocurrency token). Unfortunately, the wallet doesn’t have enough TRX, so the thief tries to transfer TRX from their own personal wallet — only to discover that the tokens they transferred immediately ended up in a completely different, third wallet.”

Kaspersky elaborated on the trick behind the scheme:

The catch is that the bait is set up as a multi-signature wallet. To authorize outgoing transactions in such wallets, approval from two or more people is required, so transferring USDT to a personal wallet won’t work — even after paying the ‘commission.’

Any TRX sent to cover the fee is redirected to another wallet controlled by the scammers, leaving the would-be thief empty-handed.

Describing the dynamic of the scam, Kaspersky stated, “So, the scammers are impersonating beginners who foolishly share access to their cryptowallets, tricking equally naive thieves — who end up becoming the victims.” The company advised crypto users to avoid accessing others’ wallets, regardless of how tempting the opportunity might seem. By staying informed and practicing ethical behavior, individuals can protect their assets and steer clear of deceptive traps like this.
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