The ‘Free Money’ Trap
You open your crypto wallet and notice a tiny deposit of a token you didn’t buy. Maybe it’s 0.000005 BTC, or a few units of an unknown altcoin. You think: ‘Cool, free airdrop!’
Stop. Don’t touch it. This is likely a Dusting Attack.
What is a Dusting Attack?
A dusting attack is a technique used by scammers and hackers (and sometimes law enforcement) to de-anonymize crypto users. They send tiny amounts of cryptocurrency—known as ‘dust’—to thousands of wallet addresses at once.
How It Works
- The Dust Drop: The attacker sprays small amounts of crypto to many random addresses.
- The Trigger: They wait for you to move that dust. Most users eventually combine these small amounts with their main funds when making a transaction (a process called UTXO consolidation).
- The Tracking: Once you move the dust, it gets mixed with your other funds on the blockchain. The attacker then analyzes the transaction history to map out your wallet clusters.
- The Goal: By linking multiple anonymous addresses to a single identity (via a centralized exchange withdrawal or a leaked database), they can target you with personalized phishing emails or extortion attempts.
Why Is It Dangerous?
Dusting itself doesn’t steal your funds directly. It steals your privacy. Once an attacker knows that Address A, Address B, and Address C all belong to the same person, and that Person X withdrew funds to Address A from Coinbase, they know exactly how much crypto Person X holds.
How to Protect Yourself
- Don’t Move the Dust: The most effective defense is to simply ignore it. If you never spend the dust, the attacker can’t track the link to your other funds.
- mark as ‘Do Not Spend’: Some wallets (like Electrum or Ledger Live) allow you to ‘hide’ or ‘freeze’ specific coins so they aren’t used in future transactions.
- Use a VPN: Always use a VPN when accessing your crypto wallets to hide your IP address.
Summary: If random coins appear in your wallet, they aren’t a gift. They are a tracking beacon. Leave them alone.
