Altcoins News

Story: Crypto Thieves Steal 87% Less in February as Phishing Surges

By James Thorp

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Crypto losses plummeted dramatically. Hackers grabbed just $49.3 million in February, way down from January's massive $385 million haul, per Nominis data.

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But security experts aren't celebrating yet. The drop doesn't mean crypto got safer - thieves just changed tactics.

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February's pattern looked different. Most victims got tricked into granting permissions they didn't understand - what security folks call "authorization abuse."

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Step Finance took the biggest hit. The Solana-based platform lost around $30 million in a breach that represented over 60% of all February crypto thefts.

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PeckShield, a blockchain security firm, reported even lower losses at $26.5 million for February - the smallest monthly total since March 2025.

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Chainalysis found that thieves grabbed $3.4 billion last year across all crypto platforms. That's a lot of money, even with improved defenses.

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Elliptic saw the same trend in their February analysis. Technical exploits dropped, but phishing schemes jumped.

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Binance announced new security measures on March 5. The exchange rolled out enhanced verification processes and educational resources.

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The FTC started monitoring the phishing surge closely. They issued warnings on March 8, telling consumers to stay alert about unsolicited communications asking for personal or…

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ENISA, the EU's cybersecurity agency, released a report on March 9 that detailed increasingly sophisticated phishing attacks in crypto.

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Coinbase detected over 1,000 phishing attempts targeting users in February alone. Chief Information Security Officer Philip Martin said technical defenses keep improving, but…

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A Kaspersky survey found that 42% of crypto users admitted uncertainty about recognizing phishing attempts.

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The UK's Financial Conduct Authority launched an initiative on March 8 to address rising phishing scams in crypto.

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Kraken implemented an AI-driven system to detect phishing attempts. Chief Security Officer Nick Percoco said the system already cut successful phishing attacks by 30% since early…

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Crypto.com rolled out enhanced user verification on March 9. The new process includes real-time alerts for suspicious activities and mandatory two-factor authentication for all…

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