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December Crypto Theft Falls to $76 Million as Scams Replace Big Breaches

Analysts say the drop reflects fewer outsized incidents rather than improved security.

Overview

  • PeckShield tallied roughly 26 major exploits in December, with total losses down sharply from November’s $194.27 million.
  • The largest incident was a $50 million address‑poisoning scam that tricked a user into sending funds to a lookalike address.
  • A compromised private key tied to a multisignature wallet enabled about $27.3 million in losses.
  • Browser‑based wallets remained a recurring target, including a $7 million Trust Wallet extension exploit and roughly $4 million drained in the Flow ecosystem.
  • U.S. authorities charged a Brooklyn man in a separate $16 million phishing case impacting about 100 Coinbase users, highlighting persistent social‑engineering threats.