Crypto Fraud Losses Reach $370 Million in January, Hitting 11-Month High

Odaily News Uniswap founder Hayden Adams warned that fraudulent search engine ads impersonating Uniswap continue to appear, with users already losing all their high-value crypto assets as a result. Scammers purchase ads for keywords like "Uniswap" to prominently display fake websites at the top of search results. These pages are designed to closely resemble the official site. Once users connect their wallets and authorize transactions, funds can be immediately transferred away. This type of attack relies on user signature authorization rather than protocol-layer vulnerabilities.

An X platform user "Ika" reported losing hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of crypto wallet assets after clicking on a fraudulent link in search results. The disclosed screenshot shows the fake link positioned at the top of the search results, making it highly deceptive. A similar incident occurred in October 2024, where scammers replicated the Uniswap website interface and induced users to connect their wallets through subtle button modifications.

Data from security firm CertiK shows that the crypto industry lost approximately $370.3 million in January 2026 due to exploits and scams, marking an 11-month high and nearly four times the losses recorded in January 2025. A single social engineering attack accounted for about $284 million of these losses. A total of 40 related security incidents were recorded in January.

Analysis indicates that current crypto asset losses stem more from user-level risks such as phishing links, fake advertisements, and social engineering attacks, rather than underlying smart contract vulnerabilities. As the DeFi ecosystem expands, brand impersonation and interface fraud are becoming significant threats that undermine user trust.