Crypto users are under attack by a highly sophisticated network of transactional scanning bots. These bots monitor high-activity blockchain addresses and, upon detecting a transaction, immediately generate a replica address.
### The Spoof Address Mechanics
Scammers use custom vanity address generators to create an address that shares the exact same first 5 and last 5 hexadecimal characters as your common trading counterparty. They then send a dust transaction ($0 value or tiny dust tokens) to your account.
### How Users Fall For It
When you want to execute a secondary transfer, you go to your transaction history on Metamask or Trust Wallet, inspect the top transaction, click copy on the receiver address, and paste it. Because you only check the first and last characters, you copy the scammer’s address instead of the verified recipient.
### The Immutable Defense Rule
Always cross-reference the full 42-character alphanumeric address on your hardware wallet screen before broadcasting. Never copy addresses blindly from transaction logs.
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