Patreon Support has acknowledged and is actively resolving a recent influx of unsolicited spam affecting certain users, particularly within the crypto community. Reports surfaced across social media platforms, including X and Reddit, indicating that individuals were receiving fraudulent emails purportedly from Patreon, with unauthorized sign-ups and subsequent receipt of malicious emails from fake crypto projects.
The phishing attempts, observed as early as Jan. 23, involved scammers falsely signing up email addresses for Patreon accounts and subsequently enrolling them in deceptive airdrop offers from fabricated crypto creators impersonating well-known projects such as Chainlink, Solana, Manta Network, and Sui.
Responding to concerns from the crypto community, Patreon Support assured users on Jan. 25 that the issue had been identified and resolved. The platform attributed the problem to an issue with email verification processes and follow-up communications from a crypto account masquerading as a Patreon creator. Affected accounts are currently under review and being addressed.
A screenshot shared from a purported email sent by Patreon shed further light on the situation, describing the scam emails as part of a coordinated malicious effort to gain unauthorized access to users’ cryptocurrency wallets. The platform asserted that measures have been taken to mitigate the issue.
Despite these assurances, some users on X continued to report receiving scam emails in the days following the announcement. Reddit users also shared similar experiences, with one individual reporting multiple scam emails referencing a supposed ‘Manta’ airdrop.
While some users expressed confidence in the additional security measures put in place, others remained skeptical about the effectiveness of these safeguards.
The incident underscores the persistent threat of phishing scams within the cryptocurrency space, with Scam Sniffer reporting over 324,000 cryptocurrency users falling victim to such scams in 2023, resulting in collective losses of $295 million.