Binance Flags 4.93 Million High-Risk Transactions In Address Poisoning Scam Alert

Binance issued a public security warning on September 7, 2026, alerting crypto wallet users to the growing threat of address poisoning scams, a deceptive technique where attackers send zero-value or dust transactions from look-alike wallet addresses to poison transaction histories and trick users into copying the wrong address for future transfers. The exchange's Wallet Security Center reported identifying roughly 4.93 million high-risk transactions across 19 chains and approximately 996,000 malicious approvals during the first half of 2026, according to Binance's official security report. The company said its security infrastructure helped users avoid approximately $540 million in potential losses during that period, though Binance clarified this figure represents prevented exposure rather than recovered funds or an independently established guarantee.

The warning emphasizes that address poisoning exploits the visual similarity between blockchain addresses, with attackers crafting addresses that match the first and last characters of a victim's legitimate address while differing only in the middle portion. Binance's security team noted that these poisoned addresses appear in transaction history alongside legitimate transfers, creating a trap where users may inadvertently copy the fraudulent address when initiating their next payment. The exchange urged users to verify the full address string before confirming any transaction, rather than relying on partial visual matches from their transaction history.

Address poisoning attacks have been documented across multiple blockchain networks, with Ethereum and Binance Smart Chain (BSC) emerging as the most heavily targeted platforms. Data from Etherscan indicates that poisoning transfers are 1,355% more common on chains with lower transaction fees, such as BSC, compared to Ethereum, as the reduced cost of sending dust transactions makes high-volume poisoning strategies economically viable. Ethereum has also seen a significant surge in address spoofing attempts, with ForkLog reporting a 600% increase in dust transfers—transactions of less than $0.01—in the 90 days following the Fusaka upgrade activation on December 3, 2025.

Binance has implemented several mitigation measures through its Wallet Security Center to protect users from address poisoning and related threats. The exchange's security infrastructure includes transaction simulation capabilities that preview what a request is expected to do before a user signs it, according to Binance's security report. This simulation can expose unexpected transfers, broad token allowances, or suspicious contracts, providing users with an additional layer of verification before confirming transactions. However, Binance cautioned that a successful simulation only means the tested execution succeeded under the conditions used; it does not certify the contract, predict every later state, or make an open-ended approval harmless.