Fake crypto ads on Google continue to rise, with $400K stolen via a Uniswap phishing site

Huo Xing Finance reports that on May 26, chain analyst "b-block" posted on a social media platform that a fake Uniswap website is stealing funds from multiple wallets, with the scammer’s held assets exceeding $400,000. Stacy Muur, founder of Web3 marketing agency Green Dots, shared screenshots of fraudulent sponsored search results, criticizing Google for years of neglect that allow fake links to rank above legitimate ones, leading to ongoing user losses. According to Etherscan data, two flagged addresses collectively hold approximately 146 ETH, valued at around $306,000. DeFiLlama notes that fake ads on Google are a common source of phishing attacks. The crypto nonprofit Security Alliance (SEAL) reported in April that phishing activity on Google searches "significantly increased" in March, with attackers using paid or compromised legitimate ad accounts to deploy highly deceptive ads that bypass Google’s automated checks by using seemingly legitimate URLs and loading malicious payloads via hidden iframes. SEAL has blocked over 356 malicious ad links and stated that attackers have consistently deployed the same volume of Google ads weekly for over a year, with no signs of slowdown. Reported losses between March 13 and March 30 alone totaled $1.27 million. Additionally, earlier this month, a "malicious ad" campaign targeting Mac users emerged, leveraging Google ads and shared chats with the AI chatbot Claude. Malwarebytes also reported that Facebook remains a major hub for fake ads and scams.