Open-Source AI Project OpenClaw's Developers Targeted in Crypto Phishing Attack

OpenClaw, founded by Peter Steinberger, is an open-source, nonprofit AI agent project that can perform tasks involving files and communications on users' computers. Its rapid rise in popularity has also made its GitHub developers targets for impersonation scams. Connecting a wallet to the fraudulent site could result in the theft of digital assets, wallets and SSH credentials, underscoring the security risks surrounding popular open-source AI ecosystems.

OX Security disclosed on March 18, 2026, that attackers had used fake GitHub accounts to tag dozens of developers, falsely offering $5,000 worth of “CLAW” tokens and directing them to a spoofed website that asked them to connect their wallets. Peter Steinberger warned on March 19 that OpenClaw had never issued a token or conducted an airdrop and that any such invitation was a scam.