Scams

MetaMask developer and security researcher Taylor Monahan said North Korean IT workers have been embedded in crypto companies and DeFi projects for at least seven years, alleging involvement across 40+ DeFi platforms. Her comments followed Drift Protocol's statement of "medium-high confidence" that its recent $280 million exploit was conducted by a North Korea state-affiliated group.

A crypto attorney said Drift Protocol's $280 million exploit could be viewed as civil negligence if basic operational security was not followed. Drift's post-mortem said the attackers spent months building trust after first contacting the team at a major crypto conference in October 2025 and planned the operation for six months before executing it.

X plans to automatically lock any account the first time it mentions cryptocurrency, forcing additional verification before it can post again. X Head of Product Nikita Bier said the change removes "99%" of incentives for phishing-driven account takeovers, though it could add friction for legitimate first-time crypto posters.

X will begin automatically locking any account that mentions cryptocurrency for the first time, requiring extra verification before it can post again. X Head of Product Nikita Bier said the change would remove "99%" of phishing incentives, but critics argue it could also force legitimate first-time crypto posters to verify their identity.

Cambodia's Senate unanimously approved the Law on Anti-Technology Fraud on April 3, 2026, passing it 58–0. The framework allows 15–30-year prison terms for leaders of online scam operations, upgraded to life imprisonment if a victim dies, and includes fines of up to about $500,000 (2 billion Cambodian Riel). Authorities say they aim to dismantle all illegal scam compounds in the country by an April 2026 deadline.

Drift Protocol said the exploit discovered on Wednesday caused losses of about $280 million, based on external estimates, and described it as a coordinated operation that unfolded over roughly six months. The team said it has “medium-high confidence” the same actors were behind Radiant Capital’s $58 million October 2024 hack, and it is working with law enforcement to reconstruct what happened during the April 1 attack.

X is implementing an auto-lock plus verification step for accounts that post about cryptocurrency for the first time, a change discussed publicly on April 1, 2026. The policy is aimed at reducing hijacked-account phishing and token-shilling, but it could also slow viral discovery loops that many memecoin communities rely on.

LastPass US is moving forward with a proposed class action settlement tied to a data breach that occurred between August 2022 and November 2022. The deal includes an $8.2 million fund that may reimburse up to $10,000 per person for documented extraordinary losses, plus smaller amounts for other eligible losses and added monitoring services. Claims must be filed by July 2, 2026, ahead of a July 14, 2026 final approval hearing.

A February 2026 survey by consulting firm Clabo of 1,486 people in Japan found Gen Z is the most alert to crypto-related scams, while many Boomers struggle most with understanding blockchain basics. The study said skepticism is driven by low technical understanding (23.3%), worries about price swings (21.1%), and fear of fraud (19.2%), and it also reported that Millennials lead in actual crypto ownership and investment activity.

A February 2026 survey by consulting firm Clabo of 1,486 people in Japan found Generation Z is the most aware of crypto-related fraud, while older respondents more often struggle to understand blockchain basics. The same dataset shows Millennials are the most likely to hold digital assets, though adoption remains limited overall, with 33.7% currently holding crypto and 50% never having invested.