Address Poisoning Attack
Attacker sends small transaction from similar address to trick you into copy-paste error.
Address poisoning is an attack where an attacker sends a microscopic transaction (e.g. $0.001) from an address that looks almost identical to yours or a frequent address in your history.
How it works:
•Attacker generates address with same first 4-6 and last 4-6 characters as yours
•Sends small tx from that address to your address
•That address appears in your transaction history
•Next time you "copy-paste" address from history — you copy attacker's
•You send real amount to attacker
Example:
•Yours: 0x1234...5678
•Attacker's: 0x1234...5679 (one character difference!)
How to protect yourself:
•Always verify ENTIRE address before confirming
•Use address book (whitelist) instead of copy-paste from history
•Use ENS (.eth) or known contacts instead of raw addresses
•MetaMask and Rabby display address in full — don't abbreviate
Notorious examples: Hundreds of millions of dollars lost to this attack in 2023 alone.