Crypto experts say that investors should do due diligence before clicking on suspicious links and that it is highly unlikely for a Bitcoin-dedicated firm to launch an Ethereum-based token.
On February 25, the Twitter account of business intelligence firm MicroStrategy fell victim to a hack. As per reports, the hacker posted phishing links promoting a fraudulent airdrop for an alleged “official” Ethereum-based MSTR token.
Individuals clicking on the link are redirected to a counterfeit MicroStrategy webpage, prompting them to link their wallet and claim the bogus MSTR airdrop. After granting a series of permissions in their Web3 wallet, it appears that the attackers are also able to siphon tokens from the user’s wallet automatically.
As per findings from independent blockchain investigator ZachXBT and anti-fraud platform Scam Sniffer, the victims of this hack have lost a staggering $440,000. Moreover, according to Scam Sniffer, a single user reported a staggering loss of over $420,000 in this phishing scam. This occurred around 12:43 am UTC, mere minutes after the initial malicious link appeared on MicroStrategy’s X account.
someone lost $424,786 worth of $wBAI, $wPOKT, and $CHEX to phishing scams about 5 minutes ago. pic.twitter.com/GEJvHEXuM7
— Scam Sniffer | Web3 Anti-Scam (@realScamSniffer) February 26, 2024
The unidentified individual suffered a loss amounting to $424,786 in altcoins. Among the transactions, one transfer was directed to the attacker linked to MicroStrategy, while two transfers were automatically redirected to another wallet associated with the infamous hacking group PinkDrainer.
In the reported incident, the victim initiated a transaction involving $134,000 worth of Wrapped Balance AI (wBAI), $122,000 worth of Chintai (CHEX), and $45,000 worth of Wrapped Pocket Network (wPOKT), all transferred to the attacker’s wallet address.
At the time of reporting, the wallet address of the MicroStrategy attacker holds a collective sum of $329,000 in Ethereum-based tokens, as per data from Ethereum DeBank.
Crypto Scams on The Rise, Pundits Issue Warnings
As we know, social media platform X has been one of the most active platforms for the crypto community. It has also become a go-to platform for crypto companies to reach out to investors and followers alike. Hacking Twitter accounts is not something new for the crypto community. However, the hackers have been recently targeting accounts of top regulatory agencies and crypto companies.
Last month, hackers breached the official X account of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and declared the spot Bitcoin ETF even before the official announcement. This led to a sharp volatility in the Bitcoin price and the broader crypto market.
In the recent case, crypto experts swiftly highlighted the apparent nature of the scam. Pseudonymous British crypto investor Cobie emphasized that it’s highly unlikely for MicroStrategy, a company solely dedicated to Bitcoin (BTC), to initiate a token launch on Ethereum. He added:
next“Obviously trying not to be victim blaming here but you gotta be very special to think MicroStrategy is launching an ETH token after Saylor has spent multiple years very famously saying ‘there is no second best’ and ‘you only use one chair’ etc.”