A user, “Anchor Drops” on X, had his wallet drained of 10 BTC and $1.5 million worth of NFTs through phishing attacks. Read on to get the details of this information.
This phishing attack, which happened nearly three years ago, has only now come to light as the hacker drained the wallet.
The Phishing Attack and the Loss
On December 13th, the user shared their heartbreaking story on social media. They wrote that they got drained of 10 BTC (around $1 million) and various NFTs on the Ledger Nano wallet. It was shortly associated with the phishing attack conducted in February 2022.
In Ledger’s quote, they manipulated the user or lured them into digitally signing the transfer, which went into the wrong hands hence getting control of the user’s wallet.
Hey @ledger tonight I lost 10 BTC and ~1.5m of NFTs stored on my ledger Nano S
The ledger was purchased directly from you. The seed phrase was stored in a secure location, never entered anywhere online. I never signed any malicious transactions. Everything is in my physical…
— Anchor Drops (@anchor_drops) December 13, 2024
How the Phishing Attack Happened
Ledger stated a phishing attack connected the Ethereum address of the user and fake transactions, which were listed as ‘Fake_Phishing5443’. The hacker employed a fraudulent transaction in the network for almost three years, so they got to the wallet. But what still makes people scratch their heads is how the phishing attack touching on Ethereum also encompassed the loss of Bitcoin (BTC).
Sorry to hear man. Looks like the phish happened a few years ago and just woke up. pic.twitter.com/OjzyYXQFKf
— KDean (@kdean) December 13, 2024
Was the Recovery phase Compromised?
According to specialists, if the hacker got his hands on the recovery phase of the user, then they would control all the things in the stated wallet, including BTC. This brings the concern that these attacks could target many cryptocurrencies in the same wallet.
Blockchain security platforms supported the idea that the loss resulted from a malicious transaction. One of the experts pointed out that the hacker had not been active for years before emptying the wallet.
Wallet that was hacked:
0xcb8343b134d73afbd9fb94efb71b4276e80d02ac
Btc wallet hacked
bc1q79grvgx8pvezkuuej547myqwy3e3wjgjuddhxy
— Anchor Drops (@anchor_drops) December 12, 2024
What Can We Learn?
All crypto users should learn from this mishap, and if you are using a wallet, be especially careful when handling it. Although using hardware wallets such as Ledger is safer, phishing attacks remain a potential threat if users are not vigilant. To prevent loss, Ledger has recommended that its users check through their transactions before approving.
Losing funds and NFTs is an incredibly distressing experience, let us share a few things that we hope can be of help.
First, it’s important to clarify that Ledger’s security model is designed to ensure that private keys are generated and stored securely within the Secure Element…
— Ledger (@Ledger) December 13, 2024
Conclusion
Losses amounting to 10 BTCs and NFTs are a bitter pill to swallow due to a phishing attack. Phishing attacks are rife in the crypto space. At the same time, hardware wallets provide more security. Users must be cautious and not sign any transaction without making necessary checks.
Disclaimer
The information discussed by Altcoin Buzz is not financial advice. This is for educational, entertainment, and informational purposes only. Any information or strategies are thoughts and opinions relevant to the accepted risk tolerance levels of the writer/reviewers and their risk tolerance may be different than yours. We are not responsible for any losses you may incur due to any investments directly or indirectly related to the information provided. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are high-risk investments so please do your due diligence. Copyright Altcoin Buzz Pte Ltd.