#METAMASK #

#Metamask# #DEFI# #ETH# #ETHEREUM# #HALVIN# #BTC#
MetaMask Adds Anti-Scam Feature After More Than
USD $1.7 billion stolen

MetaMask, one of the most popular wallets among Ethereum users and supported networks, added a feature by default to alert users about potentially risky interactions. The goal is to prevent scams associated with cryptocurrencies and web3, which accumulated more than USD 1,700 million in 2023.

To integrate this feature, MetaMask partnered with Blockaid, a cryptocurrency protocol security company. These types of alerts in the wallet already existed since October last year, but now they will be shown by default to users of Ethereum, Linea, BNB chain, Polygon, Arbitrum, Optimism and Avalanche. "We anticipate that this integration will save hundreds of millions of dollars this year alone," the official statement reads.

In addition, the new security feature was added "on an experimental basis" in the mobile app. That's why the MetaMask team recommends activating it manually in "Settings/Experimental/Blockaid". In the case of the mobile version, the feature is only available on the Ethereum mainnet.

Specifically, the MetaMask app will display warnings against possible interactions with malicious smart contracts or granting permissions that could result in the loss of cryptocurrency for the user. "With this feature, you will know if a transaction is suspicious BEFORE you sign it," the company explains in one of its messages on the X social network.

Blockaid Metamask Alert.
"If you accept this request, a third party associated with scams will steal your cryptocurrency," reads Blockaid's warning on MetaMask. Source: X @niftynaut.
To exemplify the importance of the tool, the statement mentions the Ledger Connect Kit incident, in which many decentralized application interfaces (dApps) were compromised, as reported in CriptoNoticias. However, "MetaMask users who triggered Blockaid alerts were 100% protected," they say. The theft of USD 1.15 million in cryptocurrencies could thus be prevented.

Finally, MetaMask warns that Blockaid's intervention to display alerts in the aforementioned cases does not imply sharing data related to the transactions made by its users with that company.

More than 30 million people use MetaMask
In January 2024, MetaMask approached its all-time high in the number of monthly users, with more than 30 million people using the app, available for mobile and as a browser extension. From September 2023 to January 2024, MetaMask's monthly active users increased by 55%, reports the developer team. As of January 2022, MetaMask had surpassed 31 million users.

While the growth "is a promising sign of the growing adoption of web3," the wallet's developers highlight the need to ensure users are safe from growing scams. "The attack vectors affecting decentralized finance (DeFi) are sophisticated and diverse, with hackers exploiting vulnerabilities both on-chain and off-chain," the statement said. Notably, the interception or theft of private keys, price manipulation attacks, and the exploitation of smart contracts were responsible for many hack losses in DeFi in 2023.
Source: Cryptonews