In a notable cryptocurrency theft, an individual reportedly lost a whopping $24 million in assets from their Ethereum wallet.
This event, suspected to be a consequence of a phishing trick, is being highlighted as one of the most substantial single crypto losses, as reported by The Block on Thursday.
Among the pilfered assets were 4,851 Rocket Pool ETH (rETH) valued at approximately $8.5 million, and 9,579 Lido Staked ETH (stETH), estimated at about $15.6 million at the time of the theft.
The rapid depletion of funds from the Ethereum wallet indicates the increasing sophistication and precision of phishers targeting the crypto community.
IT security entities, including Beosin and BlockSec, have delved into the case, attributing the incident to potential phishing strategies.
Expert analysis suggests that the individual likely succumbed to a phishing ploy, inadvertently enabling malicious actors to authorize transactions from their Ethereum wallet.
Phishing scams common in crypto
Phishing attacks are typically characterized by deceitful emails, messages, or phone calls designed to manipulate victims into divulging confidential information.
Such tactics rank among the prevalent methods by which individuals are duped out of their funds in the cryptocurrency realm.
In this particular incident, the victim’s engagement with a malevolent smart contract facilitated the unauthorized crypto transfer to the cybercriminal.
Soon after inadvertently authorizing this transaction, the ill-gotten digital assets were relocated to an address ambiguously named “Fake_Phishing186943,” as verified by the Ethereum blockchain explorer, Etherscan.
Highlighting the dubious nature of this address, Etherscan cautions its users, stating, “This address has been linked to a phishing scam. Exercise caution when interacting with it.”
