Imagine that you have been using your address for years. You are accustomed to its beginning, you know it starts with those familiar characters. And then one day, a zero transaction appears in history from an address that looks almost like yours. The beginning matches, the end matches, only the middle is slightly different. You scroll past, thinking it’s some kind of technical noise. But in reality, it’s a person on the other side of the screen who set a trap. Very thin, inconspicuous, but deadly effective.
The scheme is simple but incredibly cunning. Scammers pre-generate a fake address—a vanity address that closely resembles yours. They know that people rarely look at all 42 characters. Usually, we check the first and last four. It is precisely for these that the fake is adjusted. Then they send a zero transaction just so you see this address in your history. Not for money. But so your subconscious decides, 'Well, this is my address; I remember it.' This is how they are scamming holders of Monad right now—cases are already being recorded in the community where similar addresses appear in history and mislead people.
And so a day goes by, two days, a week. You make another bridge or transfer coins between wallets. You are in a hurry. Your head is full of tasks. And instead of opening the recorded address or copying it from your wallet, you open the history and copy what seems familiar. That very fake address. You send money. And lose it forever. No hacks. No viruses. Just due to one second of inattention.
This is the most striking. No one is hacking us. No one is stealing our keys. We ourselves are taking actions that lead to the loss of funds. And this is the best indicator of how important it is in crypto to cultivate attentiveness and discipline within ourselves. Not to be an ideal user, but to avoid waking up one day with an empty wallet and the question, 'How did this happen?'.
What you need to know and do right now:
• Never copy addresses from transaction history. History is a favorite place for scammers.
• Copy addresses only from your wallet or from a previously saved reliable note.
• Manually check at least the first 4 and the last 4 characters of the address. If something doesn’t match—stop.
• If you see an unfamiliar zero transaction—don’t ignore it, but be cautious. This is often a precursor to address substitution.
• Use trusted generators and never enter private keys on third-party websites. If a service offers to generate a 'pretty address', think twice.
• For important transfers, make a test transfer for a minimal amount, especially when dealing with new addresses or bridges.
Crypto is not just a market, but an environment where the attentive survive. Here, it is not the smartest who wins, but the one who makes fewer mistakes. If you want not just to participate but to truly be confident in your funds, remember this simple thought: the most dangerous enemy is not a foreign hacker, but your own haste.
Check your habits right now. Solidify the rules and make them automatic. Because one extra second of inattention can become someone else's profit and your loss.
