January crypto fraud losses reach $370 million, the highest in nearly 11 months

Odaily Planet Daily reports that Uniswap founder Hayden Adams warns that impersonation search engine ads for Uniswap continue to appear, causing some users to lose all their high-value crypto assets. Scammers purchase keywords like “Uniswap” to place fake websites at the top of search results, with page designs highly similar to 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-level vulnerabilities.

A user on X platform, “Ika,” stated that after clicking on a fake link in the search results, they lost crypto assets worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. Their disclosed screenshot shows the fake link positioned at the top of the search results, making it highly deceptive. Similar incidents also occurred in October 2024, where scammers copied the Uniswap website interface and used subtle button modifications to trick users into connecting their wallets.

Security firm CertiK data shows that in January 2026, the crypto industry lost approximately $370.3 million due to exploits and scams, the highest in nearly 11 months and nearly four times the amount in January 2025. A single social engineering attack caused losses of about $284 million. In January, a total of 40 related security incidents were recorded.

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