The Pi Network has been forced to temporarily suspend the payment request function within its wallets following a widespread social engineering scam that has drained over 4.4 million PI tokens from user accounts. The decision, announced in late December 2025, is a direct response to attackers exploiting the blockchain's transparency to target inexperienced users.
The scam mechanism is straightforward: scammers scan the public Pi blockchain to identify wallets with high balances. They then send direct payment requests to those addresses, often posing as friends, moderators, or official contacts. If a user approves the deceptive request, the tokens are transferred instantly and irreversibly, as the protocol functions exactly as designed. "This is not a system vulnerability, but rather voluntary approvals induced by deception," the Pi Network team emphasized.
On-chain data reveals the scale of the operation. A single address has been receiving massive inflows, with monthly volumes between 700,000 and 800,000 tokens for much of 2025, which sharply accelerated in December. The attack highlights a critical weakness: a large, novice user base operating on a transparent ledger. The freeze on payment requests is a containment measure with no defined timeline for reactivation while the team evaluates security enhancements.
This incident occurs as the PI token faces market pressures, trading near $0.20 amid low liquidity and recent token unlocks. The scam puts the protocol's reputation under renewed scrutiny. In response, the community is being urged to reject all unsolicited payment requests and be vigilant against fake links and phishing attempts.
