A Whale Loses 55 Million DAI in a Phishing Scam

[TomPluz]

On August 20, a cryptocurrency wallet user signed an unverified transaction, resulting in the loss of 55.47 million Dai (DAI) due to a phishing attack. After realizing the mistake, the user attempted to withdraw the funds to a new address. However, the transaction failed because the wallet’s ownership had already been changed.

The attacker withdrew $55 million from the victim’s wallet. Blockchain analytics firm Lookonchain warned that the attacker had transferred ownership to a newly created address and withdrawn all the digital assets from the platform. Notably, the attacker exchanged 27.5 million DAI for 10,625 Ether (ETH).

Phishing is a form of fraud in which attackers deceive victims into installing fake software or signing malicious transactions to steal digital assets. They attempt to trick victims into revealing their private keys, personal information, or granting access to their wallets. In the first half of 2024, phishing attacks caused nearly half a billion dollars in losses.

Get more details on this link.


One thing for sure, even whales can be victims of evil people just lurking around and looking for some good opportunity to make their punch and victimize others...to the tune of 55 million dollar worth of a stablecoin. Well, if you are one of the whales or at least hodling some sizeable amount of crypto in your wallet, you must be careful and think thrice before you do anything in your wallet. Such can be the big danger if you are just a prawn in the pond...you can be targeted with people whose only job - and this has become a very lucrative job - is to get you under their radar and control your digital assets away. If you were this whale, what are the things that you could have done to avoid losing this huge amount?

[_act_]

If you were this whale, what are the things that you could have done to avoid losing this huge amount?

His wallet was hacked as a result of phishing attack which is not a new means hackers are using to attack someone's wallet. If you want to avoid the attack, avoid phishing attack. The attack can start from the link the attacker send to you. Avoid and not click on any link sent.

[hugeblack]

There are still 22 million DAI that have not been withdrawn and since DAI is decentralized it is difficult to freeze it so I wonder how a whale would have the technical knowledge to buy DAI and not learn the basics of avoiding phishing links. Generally it would be difficult for a new hacker to launder 10,625 Ether (ETH) without being noticed.


Or in other words, there may be an entity or organization behind such hacking.

[Jating]

There are still 22 million DAI that have not been withdrawn and since DAI is decentralized it is difficult to freeze it so I wonder how a whale would have the technical knowledge to buy DAI and not learn the basics of avoiding phishing links. Generally it would be difficult for a new hacker to launder 10,625 Ether (ETH) without being noticed.


Or in other words, there may be an entity or organization behind such hacking.

Perhaps the entities is technically inclined because he wouldn't trust to put this big money. However, as what we have said, hackers are very intelligent and probably targeted this whales for a long time and just finally had the chance as the whales could have slipped out and so he is trapped. And the thing with DAI is that it can''t be blocked. Perhaps he can hire some blockchain analyst company to try to follow and where the money went to even identify the hackers itself. It's a long shot, but maybe this is only his chance to recover some.

[ABCbits]

If you were this whale, what are the things that you could have done to avoid losing this huge amount?

As stated on the news, double-check all details on the unsigned transaction. In addition, there are several wallet software which can preview or simulate what would happen if you sign or approve such action. Even web wallet such as Rabby have this feature these days.

[Baofeng]

That is a lot of money to begin with, and we all know that no one is safe here and so I can't understand why this whale has put it in just one basket.

But I read that it was not a hacked, but he supposedly transferred it to a malicious wallet.

However, it's hard to get that money back if the criminals have the knowledge to move it and be untraceable.

[Rubel007]

It's natural that scammers will target such accounts like $55 million, but it's the holder's responsibility to be careful. He must have entered through a link either consciously or unconsciously. I would expect that holders of such assets should take their utmost security but since his money was hacked through a phishing attack I can say for sure that he was not careful. He wasn't too serious or his security issues were flawed. There is no way to protect oneself from scammers or hackers without taking precautions.

[target]

Having 55M in your wallet I'm sure that hacker k ows how to target someone who is that rich.

Someone else out there must have posted it on forums how they are hacked after installing an app even if its just 10Eth in their wallet. That whale would have had the idea not to install or use that wallet online.

[Captain Corporate]

Phishing (fishing) for a whale has a sound to it to be fair. But to be fair I do feel sorry for the guy, it feels like we are not going to end up with any end to this neither, its something that has been around for a while and I fear that it will be around for a while longer as well. The best case scenario would be the fact that we are going to end up with a terrible result that will not be easy to handle, and because of that we end up with hackers and scammers and all these people still trying because they know that eventually they will get someone, even if it takes a long time, they find new whales to hunt.

[Zed0X]

All the victim could do now (after requesting assistance) is to wait for the hacker to commit a mistake. We've seen how some of the amount were traced and recovered because they ended up using centralized exchanges.

[SamReomo]

I feel bad for that whale but in crypto trusting phishing sites or applications often lead to loss of money. That's why I believe the crypto whales or huge investors should try to be more alert and use best security measures to be protected from the hackers.

Most of those hackers are quite greedy and they sometimes make mistakes and due to their mistakes they give cue to chain analysis companies who can use those cues to find details of those hackers. I hope in case of this whale the hacker may leave a strong cue so the whale's funds can be recovered and the hacker may get behind the bars.

[yhiaali3]

In fact, I do not dare to think about putting a huge amount like this 55 million in one wallet, even if it is a hard wallet. It is better to divide the amount into parts and put it in several hard wallets, preferably cold wallets that are not connected to the Internet, to avoid such mistakes.

The second mistake is rushing to sign an undocumented transaction. A person who has such an amount must make sure ten times before signing any transaction. No one is far from danger, even whales.

[ABCbits]

All the victim could do now (after requesting assistance) is to wait for the hacker to commit a mistake. We've seen how some of the amount were traced and recovered because they ended up using centralized exchanges.

The possibility is rather small though, when the news already state the hacker already convert hacked DAI to ETH.

In fact, I do not dare to think about putting a huge amount like this 55 million in one wallet, even if it is a hard wallet. It is better to divide the amount into parts and put it in several hard wallets, preferably cold wallets that are not connected to the Internet, to avoid such mistakes.

It's interesting idea, but there's trade-off where you need to backup multiple wallet and remember PIN/password for those wallets. Now i wonder how other whale secure their coin.

[NotATether]

How is that breaking news? (except the whale of course, so in his case, my condolences).

RULE NUMBER 1: If you are lucky enough to be holding  millions of dollars, you do not even think about putting it in an internet-connected wallet.

Also, and this is something  I've noticed recently, is that some programs ostensibly need your private keys to make a "proof" on your computers and let you claim your tokens reward - don't run those. They are just stealers.

[ZAINmalik75]

If you were this whale, what are the things that you could have done to avoid losing this huge amount?

His wallet was hacked as a result of phishing attack which is not a new means hackers are using to attack someone's wallet. If you want to avoid the attack, avoid phishing attack. The attack can start from the link the attacker send to you. Avoid and not click on any link sent.

He didn't just click on any link; he also signed an unverified transaction. How idiotic or ignorant could he be? We shouldn't even open our wallets for small tasks but only when we need to sell or swap. Never keep all your funds in a wallet that you use for day-to-day transactions.

Keep your funds in a cold wallet and use them sparingly. Tracking the scammer would be easier with such an amount if the victim hires a professional. Hackers are constantly working and spreading links to leaked emails, which they obtain in abundance from illegal sites. They then use automated tools to send emails to everyone.