Wallet Drainer
What is Wallet Drainer?
Wallet DrainerMalicious software or a phishing kit that tricks crypto-wallet users into signing transactions or approvals that hand over all valuable tokens and NFTs.
Wallet drainers are turnkey scam kits sold to affiliates on dark-web markets and Telegram. A victim is lured via fake airdrops, fake mints, hijacked X (Twitter) accounts, malvertising or phishing emails to a cloned dApp. Once they connect their wallet, the drainer crafts transactions abusing ERC-20 approve, permit, setApprovalForAll, Permit2, or signature-based off-chain authorisations to transfer tokens, NFTs, and native assets to attacker-controlled addresses. Notable kits include Inferno Drainer, Pink Drainer, MS Drainer, Angel Drainer, and Venom Drainer. Defenders rely on transaction-simulation wallets, allowance dashboards (revoke.cash), allowlists, hardware-wallet clear signing, and active phishing-domain takedowns.
● Examples
- 01
Inferno Drainer was responsible for over 80 million USD stolen from hundreds of thousands of wallets between 2022 and 2024 per public reports.
- 02
Fake mint pages for high-profile NFT projects use drainer kits to seize entire collections in a single signature.
● Frequently asked questions
What is Wallet Drainer?
Malicious software or a phishing kit that tricks crypto-wallet users into signing transactions or approvals that hand over all valuable tokens and NFTs. It belongs to the Web3 & Blockchain category of cybersecurity.
What does Wallet Drainer mean?
Malicious software or a phishing kit that tricks crypto-wallet users into signing transactions or approvals that hand over all valuable tokens and NFTs.
How does Wallet Drainer work?
Wallet drainers are turnkey scam kits sold to affiliates on dark-web markets and Telegram. A victim is lured via fake airdrops, fake mints, hijacked X (Twitter) accounts, malvertising or phishing emails to a cloned dApp. Once they connect their wallet, the drainer crafts transactions abusing ERC-20 approve, permit, setApprovalForAll, Permit2, or signature-based off-chain authorisations to transfer tokens, NFTs, and native assets to attacker-controlled addresses. Notable kits include Inferno Drainer, Pink Drainer, MS Drainer, Angel Drainer, and Venom Drainer. Defenders rely on transaction-simulation wallets, allowance dashboards (revoke.cash), allowlists, hardware-wallet clear signing, and active phishing-domain takedowns.
How do you defend against Wallet Drainer?
Defences for Wallet Drainer typically combine technical controls and operational practices, as detailed in the full definition above.
What are other names for Wallet Drainer?
Common alternative names include: Crypto drainer, Drainer kit.
● Related terms
- attacks№ 821
Phishing
A social-engineering attack in which an attacker impersonates a trusted party to trick a victim into revealing credentials, transferring money, or running malware.
- web3№ 952
Rug Pull
An exit scam in which the developers of a crypto token, NFT collection, or DeFi protocol drain liquidity or treasury funds and disappear, leaving holders with worthless assets.
- web3№ 1056
Smart Contract Security
The practice of designing, reviewing, and operating on-chain programs so they cannot be exploited to steal funds, freeze logic, or violate intended business rules.
- web3№ 106
Blockchain Security
The discipline of protecting distributed ledgers, their consensus mechanisms, smart contracts, and surrounding infrastructure from compromise, fraud, and theft.
- web3№ 491
Hot Wallet
A crypto wallet whose private keys reside on an internet-connected device, trading lower security for low-friction signing of frequent transactions.
- web3№ 1003
Seed Phrase
A human-readable list of 12 or 24 words (typically a BIP-39 mnemonic) that encodes the master secret from which all keys of a crypto wallet are derived.
● See also
- № 198Cold Wallet
- № 728NFT Fraud
- № 816Permit2 Phishing