Crypto Dusting is the act of sending out tiny parcels of cryptocurrency to hundreds or thousands of different wallets, and a “dusting attack” is when they use this crypto for malicious purposes.

What is Crypto Dusting?

Crypto dust is usually smaller than the transaction fee for a specific kind of crypto, and sometimes agencies will send out tiny packets of crypto equal to or greater than the smallest transaction fee possible. In many cases, wallet owners may not even know that they have received the crypto dust in question.

The purpose of this is often professional or for monitoring purposes, and many consider it unethical.

But dusting can also be used for more malicious purposes.

What is a Dusting Attack?

Crypto is generally referred to as pseudonymous rather than anonymous, as one of the key features of blockchain technology is its public ledger.

What this means is that while your name and address may not be tied to your crypto activities in the eyes of the public, the transactions in and out of crypto wallets are.

It’s been found that some scammers will send out dusting attacks to thousands of wallets that seem promising for their purposes. The reason they do so is that they can then track that wallet’s activities and potentially unravel the user’s identity through third-party means.

This can include data leaks, hacks on exchanges, or privacy breaches.

The scammers can then use this information to construct more tailor-made scams for these individuals. These can be simple phishing scams or even highly elaborate fake romances that can go on for months or even years.