The attack is one of the biggest individual losses resulting from a phishing scam.
An unfortunate crypto whale has suffered a devastating loss of $24 million in staked Ethereum after falling victim to a phishing attack, on-chain data shows.
Blockchain security company PeckShield observed that the whale has lost a staggering $24.24 million in crypto so far in the form of 4,851 rETH and 9,579.2 stETH. (rETH is a liquid staking derivative from Rocket Pool; stETH is a derivative from Lido.)
The phisher has already swapped the staked tokens for 13,785 ETH and 1.64M DAI.
Another Web3 security platform, Mist Track, observed that some of the funds have been transferred into crypto exchange Free Float, but most remains in three separate addresses. Free Float is a non-KYC exchange that requires very minimal steps to send and receive funds.
Web3 anti-scam solution Scam Sniffer detailed the events on X, writing that the scam “may be the largest amount ever stolen from a single victim”.
The victim reportedly gave the scammer token approvals by signing “increaseAllowance” transactions.
The scammer’s address – “0x4c10a462CD1e639Da8A062aE8a33a23401120ab1” – is associated with many crypto phishing sites, Scam Sniffer stated.
Scams remain rife in the crypto industry.
A report by TRM Labs recently revealed a significant rise in the prevalence of fraud, scams, and thefts, with $7.8B stolen throughout 2022.
$1.5B of this was spent in illegal transactions on the darknet; $3.7B was stolen through hacks and exploits, and $2B was stolen on cross-chain bridges.
Bitcoin accounted for 3% of all hacks, while Ethereum accounted for 68%.
As decentralised networks, blockchain-based scams and hacks leave their victims in the dark. Funds are very rarely, if ever, recovered.
Read more: Atomic Wallet still can’t explain what caused hack that led to $100M in losses
Of the phishing scam, one X user wrote, “How is this possible? Ouch! And no one to go complain to either as it’s crypto. Honestly can’t see how we expect mass adoption when you can lose your savings by so much as blowing your nose.”
Popular on-chain sleuth ZachXBT commented with a simple, “that’s brutal”.
Phishing scams of this magnitude are a reminder that even the most seasoned investors need to be extremely vigilant. To read more tips on wallet safety, read here.
Disclaimer: CryptoPlug does not recommend that any cryptocurrency should be bought, sold, or held by you. Do conduct your own due diligence and consult your financial advisor before making any investment decisions.
