TL;DR
- A Gigachad (GIGA) token investor lost $6.09 million in a phishing attack.
- The attack was carried out through a fake Zoom link that installed malware on his computer.
- US authorities are involved in the investigation to try to recover the funds.
A recent phishing attack in the cryptocurrency world resulted in the loss of $6.09 million for an investor of Gigachad (GIGA), a memecoin.
This investor, operating under the pseudonym “Still in the Game,” fell victim to a sophisticated scam when he received an invitation link for a Zoom meeting.
🚨 WARNING: Beware of fake Zoom malware!
A $GIGA holder lost millions!Compare carefully:
us04-zoom[.]us ❌
us02web.zoom[.]us ✅They look similar, right? That's the trap! 🎯 pic.twitter.com/RWMur5MM7V
— Scam Sniffer | Web3 Anti-Scam (@realScamSniffer) November 12, 2024
However, the link was fake and redirected to a web page designed to mimic the Zoom platform, a common tactic in phishing attacks. After being clicked, the website installed malware on the investor’s device, allowing the attackers to steal funds from their digital wallets.
Crypto research firm Scam Sniffer, the original source of the news, revealed that the malware used in this attack was key in obtaining sensitive information from the investor’s wallets.
The hacker, after accessing the accounts, transferred the 95.3 million GIGA tokens, which were worth approximately $6.09 million at the time of the attack.
After stealing the funds, the attacker converted the tokens into other cryptocurrencies, primarily 11,759 units of Solana (SOL), and later into stablecoins Tether (USDT) and USD Coin (USDC), making it even more difficult to track the assets.
To the investor‘s frustration, the hacker quickly moved the funds to different wallets and transferred a portion to the KuCoin exchange platform, further complicating the recovery of the money.
Given the seriousness of the situation, the investor contacted both the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and a specialized crypto forensic team, hoping to trace the origin of the attack and, eventually, recover his assets.
Security in handling crypto
This case has raised great concern among the cryptocurrency investor community and highlights the growing threats faced by users on decentralized platforms.
Phishing attacks are becoming more sophisticated, with hackers employing strategies such as creating links that are very similar to the originals, as was the case here, where the fraudulent Zoom link was almost identical to the official one. This allows the entire security of digital wallets to be compromised with just one click.
The affected investor, despite the losses, assured that he will not abandon the crypto market and remains optimistic about the possibility of recovering his funds in the future.
He also called on other users to take extreme caution in their transactions and to carefully check any links they receive.
The situation also opens a debate around the security and protection of digital funds, and on the role that both cryptocurrency platforms and authorities should play in regulating and preventing these crimes.
This phishing attack adds to other recent cases in the cryptocurrency sector, which could accelerate the implementation of more advanced security solutions and systems.
