Pi Network suspends payment requests after 4.4 million Pi coins are stolen in a scam

Members of the Pi Network community are alarmed by the growing number of fraudulent schemes that have already resulted in millions of Pi tokens leaving users’ wallets.

The scheme leverages the network’s payment request capabilities and the inherent transparency of blockchain data. This prompts the Pi Core team to temporarily disable payment requests if losses increase.

Pioneer warns of fraudulent method to steal Pi from wallet

According to multiple community alerts circulated on X (formerly Twitter), scammers can scan the Pi blockchain to identify wallet addresses and view Pi balances.

Once a wallet with a large balance is identified, the attacker sends a payment request directly to its owner. Once the recipient clicks “Accept”, the Pi is instantly transferred to the scammer’s wallet and cannot be retrieved.

Community account Pi OpenMainnet 2025 warned that this mechanism is often misinterpreted as a technical flaw.

“People used to call this a ‘system vulnerability,’ but let’s be honest: this is not a vulnerability at all,” the post says. “This is exactly how wallets are designed to work. The only way you can lose your Pi coins is if you personally authorize the transaction.”

The same message emphasized that the threat lies in social engineering, not protocol failure. Fraudsters can disguise requests to appear legitimate or impersonate trusted contacts, increasing the likelihood that users will approve the transfer without verifying it.

massive fraud

Blockchain tracking shared by the community shows a single wallet address as the primary hub of activity.

This address GCD3SZ3TFJAESWFZFROZZHNRM5KWFO25TVNR6EMLWNYL47V5A72HBWXP is accused of stealing between 700,000 and 800,000 Pi per month. According to reports, cumulative losses now exceed 4.4 million Pi.

Data shared Pi network updates shows consistent monthly inflows to the address.

• Approximately 877,900 Pi in July 2025
• 743,000Pi in August
• 757,000Pi in September
• Pi 563,000 in October
• 622,700Pi in November,
• In December, it exceeded 838,000 Pi.

The numbers suggest coordinated, ongoing activity rather than isolated incidents, and the spike in December suggests activity is accelerating.

The scale of the theft has raised concerns among pioneers, many of whom are new to on-chain transactions. Therefore, you may not be fully aware of the risks of approving unsolicited requests.

Pi team disables payment requests

In response, the Pi team has temporarily suspended the “Send Payment Request” feature. Community notifications indicate this action was taken after an increase in fraudulent activity.

“The Pi team is currently suspending these types of requests (possibly because the scam has gotten out of control),” Pi Network Alerts said in a post.

However, the suspension is described as a temporary measure rather than a permanent solution. This feature may be re-enabled once additional safety measures and user protections are evaluated.

Until then, community guidance is clear. The network advises users not to accept or approve payment requests sent to their wallets, regardless of who the sender is.

The warning highlights that scammers may be pretending to be friends, family members, or even Pi’s official account.

The incident highlighted broader challenges for blockchain networks in balancing transparency and ease of use while maintaining user security.

While the Pi protocol works as intended, this episode highlights how easily social engineers can exploit standard functionality to create attack vectors.

As payment requests remained invalid at the end of the year, Pi Network’s PI coin was trading at $0.20381, up almost 1% in the past 24 hours.

Pi coin price performance. Source: BeInCrypto

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Meanwhile, members of the Pi community continue to track suspicious wallets and enforce security warnings. We urge everyone to be vigilant as scams are becoming more sophisticated and widespread.

The post Pi Network Stops Payment Requests After 4.4 Million Pi Coins Exfiltrated in Fraud appeared first on BeInCrypto.