Fake AI trading bot tutorials steal 274.6 ETH from 224 victims
Fake YouTube tutorials promoting AI-powered crypto arbitrage bots have tricked 224 victims into deploying malicious smart contracts that stole 274.6 ETH worth about $517,000. SummaryNine similar YouTube videos directed users to compilers controlled by the scam operators.Victims deployed 234 contracts and funded them through transactions they approved themselves.A malicious backend replaced the code shown to users with contracts designed to steal ETH.Stolen funds moved to six collection addresses, with the median victim losing 1 ETH. TRM Labs said in a Sep. 14 report that the operation disguised malicious Ethereum contracts as automated trading tools built with Anthropics Claude, allowing the scammers to steal funds without relying on conventional phishing links or suspicious wallet approvals. The blockchain intelligence firm traced 234 contracts deployed by victims, although the campaign affected 224 people because some participants created more than one contract. Funds taken through the contracts eventually reached six collection addresses controlled by the operators. Based on ETHs value when the transfers occurred, the 274.6 ETH stolen was worth approximately $517,000. TRM calculated a median loss of 1 ETH per incident, showing that the total did not depend on a single large victim. You might also like: Verus Ethereum Bridge hacked again for $7.54M after May exploit Fake AI trading









