Warning about the 50 million USDT phishing case: Why you should no longer use shortened addresses.

2025-12-21 13:20:11

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[Coin World] Recently, a serious case has gone viral – 50 million USDT has gone missing. How did it disappear? The phisher had a crafty idea and generated an address that started and ended with the same characters as the target address. The victim didn't look closely and just copied and pasted it, and the money was transferred like that.

After this incident, the Ethereum Community Foundation issued a reminder on X, pointing to a bad habit that many people overlook: stop using dot notation to truncate addresses. You know the format that displays as “0xbaf4…B6495F8b5”, right? It looks neat, but this approach actually hides a pitfall—hiding the middle part means users cannot fully verify the authenticity of the address.

The problem doesn't stop there. Some UI options provided by wallet applications and block explorers do have security flaws in their design. However, these are not insurmountable issues. As long as the address information is fully displayed, allowing users to clearly see what the entire address looks like, such risks can be greatly reduced.

Ultimately, security should not be compromised for convenience. In Web3, taking a closer look at an Address might just save yourself some money.

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YieldWhisperer

· 2h ago

I have long said not to be lazy and use shortened addresses; this time the 50 million USDT lost is a lesson. It's the same old phishing method, it seems I have to pay attention myself. The hidden address in the middle is really a security risk; it might as well be displayed completely. This is ridiculous, 50 million just disappeared like this... Not checking before copying and pasting really should be a lesson learned. To be honest, UX and security are really hard to balance, but life is more important than a beautiful interface. Displaying the full address isn't a bad thing; it saves us from being played people for suckers in the future.

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StealthMoon

· 18h ago

Damn, 50 million just disappeared like that, it's really unbelievable. Ellipsis addresses should have been banned long ago, I never believed in them. That's why I always have to triple-check the entire address; it's a hassle but at least it gives me peace of mind. The wallet design really deserves the blame; how can users play when they are so passive? Finally, someone said it; ellipsis addresses are a hidden danger. Copying and pasting is the most harmful; I've learned my lesson this time. So who can we trust now, when we can't even see the complete address? This design logic is really poisonous; hiding the middle part is just digging a pit. From now on, I'll just input manually; the ellipsis is really a big pit. Phishing is too cunning; it's a brilliant trick to have the same start and end.

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CodeZeroBasis

· 18h ago

50 million gone just because I was too lazy to check the full Address, this is really something. Really, our industry is too easy to trip up, even copying and pasting can lead to disaster. Those shortened Addresses are just traps for phishing, they should have been canceled long ago. Sigh, who told the Wallet design to be so "thoughtful", it instead became an accomplice. Is it really that hard to look at the Address? With this level of security awareness, how can you still play with coins? Once 50000000 just vanished, a bloody lesson for everyone. Is it really worth saving that little bit of effort, everyone? It's the UI design's fault, user experience and security can't possibly coexist, right? This issue has been raised before, but no one listened, and now you regret it, huh?

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RugPullAlertBot

· 18h ago

It's the trouble caused by copying and pasting again, 50 million is gone. --- The ellipsis Address really needs to die, showing the complete one is the way to go. --- Damn, this phishing guy is quite smart, who can tell that it’s consistent from start to finish? --- Why do we have to use abbreviated addresses? It doesn't save even two seconds of trouble. --- This incident shows that the Wallet UI design is indeed trash, and users should be more careful. --- Truncating addresses is inherently a trap, it should have been banned long ago. --- 50 million, what kind of order does it take to pull off such a shady operation? --- After seeing this case, I now tremble when copying addresses, fearing I might fall into the same trap. --- Hiding the middle part of the Address is inherently inhumane, and now it’s even worse.

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Degentleman

· 19h ago

This 50 million hurts too much, saving data has caused trouble.

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PonziWhisperer

· 19h ago

50 million USDT just disappeared like that, it's really unbelievable. This dot truncation is truly a security nightmare. --- Wow, this phishing method is indeed a bit extreme, who can tell the difference when the start and end are the same? --- So in the end, we still have to develop the habit of copying the complete address, being lazy comes at a price. --- Ah, another painful lesson. Using shortened addresses to save time ended up being more troublesome. --- Dot truncation really deserves to be condemned, it looks neat but poses huge risks, it should have been banned long ago. --- The UI design of wallets and browsers is so garbage, the victims are quite wronged to be honest. --- 50 million, how bold do you have to be to just paste it so casually? --- You still have to rely on yourself to be more cautious, verifying the complete address can't be rushed. --- After this incident, there should be a lot of people changing their habits, the cost is too high. --- Displaying the complete address is a basic operation, how come there are still so many wallets not doing this?

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