MEV bot scam rides AI hype to return under new name, says SlowMist

As a seasoned researcher with years of experience in cybersecurity and blockchain technology, I’ve seen my fair share of scams, but this one takes the cake (or should I say ETH?). The audacity of these scammers to ride the AI hype wave by rebranding their old Uniswap bot as a ChatGPT Arbitrage MEV Bot is nothing short of ingenious, if not outright criminal.


More and more individuals are unfortunately becoming victims of a revamped version of an age-old trading bot scam, which is cleverly disguised to exploit the excitement surrounding artificial intelligence, as per the findings of cybersecurity company SlowMist in the field of blockchain.

According to a post on Medium dated October 13th, SlowMist stated that cybercriminals are now leveraging the popularity of trending topics by using ChatGPT, which is developed by OpenAI, for their fraudulent bots. This is an attempt to capitalize on the widespread interest in AI at present.

Initially, these fraudulent programs were advertised as “Uniswap Arbitrage MEV Bots,” but they’ve recently changed their branding and are now being marketed as “ChatGPT Arbitrage MEV Bots.

The company stated that by attaching the name ‘ChatGPT’ to their fraudulent schemes, they can attract more interest and seem more trustworthy.

Scammers assert that they created the bot’s programming using ChatGPT, a move intended to reassure users that there is no harmful coding involved.

MEV bot scam rides AI hype to return under new name, says SlowMist

Slower Mist clarified that swindlers entice users with the allure of an automated trading tool, which supposedly generates substantial earnings by tracking emerging tokens and dramatic price movements in Ethereum.

Affected individuals are advised to establish a MetaMask digital wallet and interact with a deceptive link on the publicly accessible Remix platform. After copying the code and deploying the automated program (bot), they are instructed to finance the smart contract for its activation.

According to SlowMist, by depositing more Ethereum (ETH), users believe they’re increasing their potential earnings. However, once they hit ‘start,’ the ETH they deposited disappears instantly, ending up in the scammer’s wallet through a hidden backdoor in the smart contract.

The company stated that the funds leaving their system are either sent straight to trading platforms or temporarily stored at holding addresses, it explained.

MEV bot scam rides AI hype to return under new name, says SlowMist

According to SlowMist, they’ve managed to identify three suspicious accounts that employ these strategies to defraud unaware users.

One stole 30 Ether (ETH), worth over $78,000, from over 100 victims since August. Two others stole 20 Ether, worth over $52,000, from 93 victims 

Sloppy scammers utilize a broad strategy, snatching minimal sums from numerous victims, typically dissuading them from attempting recovery since the energy invested in retrieval usually outweighs the value of what was taken.

SlowMist pointed out that since the losses suffered by many victims are quite small, they often lack the necessary time and means to pursue justice.

This situation enables the con artists to persist with their deceptive practices, frequently disguising the scam as a fresh endeavor using a different label.

Based on a blockchain security company’s findings, numerous videos on YouTube (specifically) appear to be endorsing this kind of fraudulent activity.

The video could potentially signal a scam if it shows mismatched video and audio, or if it appears to be reused footage from another source.

A large amount of initial positive comments and appreciation at the beginning of a discussion, followed by subsequent posts exposing it as a fraud, could potentially indicate warning signs.

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2024-10-15 08:00