MetaMask has introduced a new suite of wallet protections aimed at reducing losses from romance scams, investment fraud, and address-poisoning schemes. The features are available in MetaMask Mobile version 8.11 and later and MetaMask Extension version 13.48 and later, according to the company’s September 14 announcement.
The upgraded warning system uses Blockaid-powered checks to flag malicious destination addresses across supported EVM networks. Contextual prompts now appear before users send funds to lookalike wallet addresses, first-time recipients, or addresses associated with romance and investment scams. Unlike a static blocklist, the prompts are designed to encourage additional scrutiny at the moment of transfer.
A separate mechanism called Added Protection automatically reverts a transaction if its on-chain execution differs from the preview shown to the user. This feature launched first on the browser extension, with mobile support planned. MetaMask also introduced an optional Transaction Shield product priced at $9.99 per month, offering up to $10,000 in monthly coverage for eligible transactions; it is currently available on the Extension rather than Mobile.
Martin Peko, Staff Product Manager at MetaMask, said the team noticed many users were ignoring existing scam warnings, which suggested they trusted the recipient or were being instructed to proceed. “That made us think that a different kind of control was necessary,” Peko said. MetaMask also added priority support access within the warning flow so users with doubts can reach a real person.
The company is integrating artificial intelligence to improve threat detection, working with security partner Blockaid. Blockaid uses large language models and classification models to analyze website and social media content, alongside static and dynamic on-chain bytecode analysis and transaction flows. Peko described the effort as part of “a broader shift from static warnings toward responsive and contextual warnings.”
The launch follows rising regulatory and law enforcement activity. MetaMask cited FBI data showing $7.2 billion in U.S. losses from crypto investment scams in 2025. In July, U.S. authorities seized more than $25 million in cryptocurrencies linked to investment fraud and romance scams. In early September, the Secret Service froze $52.8 million in cryptocurrencies tied to Xinbi Guarantee, a Telegram marketplace that allegedly provided services to scammers.
