<p>This seems to be what's known as an <em>address poisoning attack</em>. It works like this:</p>
<p>The attacker picks an address that has been used multiple times and holds a considerable amount of money (over 5 BTC in this case). They then craft an address using a brute-force search that they control but that begins and ends with the same characters as the victim's address, and from this special address send the victim a small amount of money. The hope is that the next time the victim wants to use their address they copy it from their transaction history and accidentally copy the attacker's address, who then receives funds intended for the victim.</p>
<p>Some ways you can protect yourself from this attack:</p>
<ul>
<li>Don't reuse addresses.</li>
<li>Don't copy addresses from your transaction history.</li>
<li>Always check every character of your address, not just the start and end.</li>
</ul>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-11-14T02:16:12.957Z
thank you so much. It really looks the case. I made a mistake, that it looked like mine address
John
CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-11-14T02:14:29.437Z
2024-11-14T02:14:29.437Z
Vojtěch Strnad
<p>I did not initiate this transaction: <a href="https://mempool.space/tx/c64df53cdab52b1ff53425a3d819bc897982912bf36e0c97e8fe6dcee8501edc" rel="nofollow noreferrer">c64df53cdab52b1ff53425a3d819bc897982912bf36e0c97e8fe6dcee8501edc</a></p>
<p>Is there any reason that it could be legit, not a sign of a compromised wallet?</p>
<p>Thank you!</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-11-14T02:01:43.557Z
Hi John, can you clarify whether the transaction is sending money in or out of your wallet?
Vojtěch Strnad
<transactions><wallet><attack><dust>
What is this strange microtransaction in my wallet?
John
# What is this strange microtransaction in my wallet?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2024-11-14)

I did not initiate this transaction: [c64df53cdab52b1ff53425a3d819bc897982912bf36e0c97e8fe6dcee8501edc](https://mempool.space/tx/c64df53cdab52b1ff53425a3d819bc897982912bf36e0c97e8fe6dcee8501edc)

Is there any reason that it could be legit, not a sign of a compromised wallet?

Thank you!

**Tags:** transactions, wallet, attack, dust

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Hi username_0, can you clarify whether the transaction is sending money in or out of your wallet?  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2024-11-14. Score: 4 | Accepted answer

This seems to be what's known as an *address poisoning attack*. It works like this:

The attacker picks an address that has been used multiple times and holds a considerable amount of money (over 5 BTC in this case). They then craft an address using a brute-force search that they control but that begins and ends with the same characters as the victim's address, and from this special address send the victim a small amount of money. The hope is that the next time the victim wants to use their address they copy it from their transaction history and accidentally copy the attacker's address, who then receives funds intended for the victim.

Some ways you can protect yourself from this attack:

* Don't reuse addresses.
* Don't copy addresses from your transaction history.
* Always check every character of your address, not just the start and end.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: thank you so much. It really looks the case. I made a mistake, that it looked like mine address  

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