2022-11-01 (incident), Month only: Group-IB says Inferno Drainer was active from November 2022. · Location not reported

Inferno Drainer crypto wallet drainer-as-a-service, 2022 to 2023

Unconfirmed by a primary sourceNo law enforcement or court action against Inferno Drainer's operators has been announced, so the only sources are security vendor research. Country is recorded as XX (unknown) because victims were global and the operators are unidentified.

Allegations only; no charges or findings are recorded here.

Group-IB says Inferno Drainer was a scam-as-a-service operation active from November 2022 until an announced shutdown in November 2023. Its developers offered phishing infrastructure that impersonated more than 100 cryptocurrency brands across more than 16,000 unique domains, luring users to connect their wallets and approve malicious transactions, and took 20% of the proceeds while the affiliates using it kept 80%. Group-IB, citing ScamSniffer data, linked it to more than $80 million in digital assets taken from victims. Check Point later reported that it kept operating, with more than 30,000 wallets hit and at least $9 million lost between September 2024 and March 2025, partly through a fake Discord verification bot.

$80M (estimate; Digital assets Group-IB, citing ScamSniffer data, links to Inferno Drainer (more than $80 million). A vendor figure, not a law enforcement finding.)

Timeline

1. 2022-11-01 Inferno Drainer becomes active, according to Group-IB.
2. 2023-11-01 The operators announce a shutdown in November 2023.
3. 2024-01-16 Group-IB publishes its research, linking the drainer to more than $80 million in digital assets.
4. 2025-05-07 Check Point Research reports the drainer is still in use, with at least $9 million lost from more than 30,000 wallets in six months.

Lessons

• Never sign a wallet transaction or approval to verify yourself; a genuine verification step does not need permission to move your tokens.
• Reach crypto projects through bookmarked official links, not links from Discord messages, ads or social posts.
• Review and revoke token approvals in your wallet regularly.

Scam types: Crypto wallet drainer

Sources

1. Group-IB: Divine tragedy: Group-IB uncovers 16,000+ malicious domains created during Inferno Drainer crypto scam spree (Vendor research, secondary, accessed 2026-09-24)
2. Check Point Research: Return of the crypto Inferno Drainer (Vendor research, secondary, accessed 2026-09-24)