Reports circulating on social media platforms like X and Reddit indicate that crypto enthusiasts have been receiving unsolicited emails from Patreon, with scammers allegedly signing up users’ email addresses for Patreon accounts and subsequently bombarding them with deceptive emails purportedly from fake crypto projects on the platform.
Complaints regarding these phishing attempts surfaced on January 23, with users disclosing instances of receiving fraudulent airdrop offers from individuals posing as creators associated with prominent crypto projects such as Chainlink, Solana, Manta Network, and Sui.
In a post on X dated January 25, Patreon Support responded to a concerned crypto community member, acknowledging the issue and indicating that it had been addressed. The platform clarified that the problem stemmed from an email verification glitch and subsequent misleading communication from a fraudulent crypto account masquerading as a Patreon creator. Patreon assured users that affected accounts were being dealt with accordingly.
A screenshot of an email reportedly sent from Patreon shed further light on the situation, revealing that the scam emails were part of a coordinated effort to gain unauthorized access to users’ cryptocurrency wallets. However, despite Patreon’s efforts to rectify the issue, several users on X continued to report receiving scam emails over the following days.
“I deleted 6 Patreon emails today, all talking about a ‘Manta’ airdrop,” shared u/PhaseEquivalent3529 in a Reddit post on January 28 within the r/CryptoCurrency thread.
While some users expressed appreciation for the additional security measures implemented by Patreon, concerns lingered regarding the persistence of phishing attempts.
Cointelegraph reached out to Patreon for comment but had not received a response at the time of writing.
According to the blockchain security platform Scam Sniffer, over 324,000 cryptocurrency users fell victim to phishing scams in 2023, resulting in total losses of $295 million.