Bitrace has uncovered a new scam targeting cryptocurrency traders, involving the misuse of QR codes to steal wallet authorizations. Scammers are luring users with enticing over-the-counter (OTC) trade offers and TRX rewards, native to the Tron protocol, to execute their scheme.The scam begins with fraudsters making a small, seemingly legitimate payment in USDT to gain the victim’s trust. They then propose below-market trades and promise TRX incentives for continued engagement, often requesting a small test repayment as part of their ploy.Bitrace’s investigation revealed that these scammers use QR codes to redirect users to a third-party site designed to facilitate USDT transfers. Users who confirm the transaction are unknowingly interacting with a phishing smart contract, which then steals their wallet authorization.Between July 11 and July 17, 2024, the scam resulted in the theft of $120,000 worth of USDT from 27 victims. Bitrace urges cryptocurrency investors to exercise caution by verifying the counterparty’s address and conducting thorough due diligence before proceeding with any transactions.This incident highlights the need for increased vigilance in the crypto space to avoid falling victim to sophisticated phishing schemes.
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Vaibhavv Ali is the founder and editor of Cryptonite (cryptonite.ae), an independent digital-asset news and analysis publication with a UAE focus. He covers virtual-asset regulation — VARA, ADGM and the UAE Central Bank — alongside real-world-asset tokenization, stablecoins and agentic AI in finance. Every Cryptonite article is human-edited and its sources are linked. He is also a celebrated speaker and host.
