Hacking News
Solana Wallets Targeted in Lookalike Payment Scheme
Bitquery's research reveals a lookalike payment scheme targeting nearly 4.5 million Solana wallets over a period of 11 months. A successful $10 USDT test transfer to a fake address can precede a larger payment to a scammer. The technique, known as address poisoning, involves planting a misleading entry in a wallet's payment history. A tiny incoming transfer puts the sender's lookalike address near a legitimate payment. If the user later copies that address, they can send money to the wrong recipient. Bitquery counted 4,497,798 targeted wallets from Oct. 30, 2025, through Oct. 7, 2026. The findings highlight the risk of a successful small test transfer leading to a larger payment to a scammer, as the loss occurs when the owner subsequently authorizes a payment to the lookalike address. The wider targeting count does not mean 4.5 million wallets lost money, as the loss total is a floor, counting payments of at least $1 within 90 days of the first dust transfer. Wallets poisoned after July 9, 2026, and payments outside the specified rules were excluded from the analysis.