According to online blockchain investigator Plumferno, creditors of bankrupt digital asset firms FTX and BlockFi are being targeted by crypto scammers.
Claimants of FTX and BlockFi have reported receiving seemingly legitimate fraudulent emails enticing them with the promise of immediate withdrawals of their remaining balances.
“These emails, purportedly from the BlockFi restructuring team, provide updates on court proceedings and offer affected users the opportunity to withdraw their remaining balances,” noted security expert Plumferno in a thread on X (Twitter).
Since a New Jersey bankruptcy court approved BlockFi’s plan to fully reimburse Wallet customers in October 2023, creditors of these troubled exchanges have been eagerly awaiting their refunds.
Taking advantage of the frustrations of these creditors, scammers have managed to accumulate at least $7 million worth of digital assets and NFTs.
“An elaborate and ongoing phishing scam orchestrated by one of PinkDrainer’s clients has resulted in losses (to date) of nearly $7 million over the past 5 days.”
Pink Drainer, a threat group primarily focused on phishing, has been identified as targeting cryptocurrency investors. The blockchain analyst emphasized that some creditors are unaware that they are falling victim to theft.
“The most troubling aspect of this scam is that a significant portion of the assets have been stolen from inactive wallets – individuals likely impacted by the BlockFi bankruptcy who haven’t accessed their funds since,” the analyst stated.
Moreover, the email scam extends to FTX creditors as well. In a deceptive email update resembling official correspondence from FTX, it was stated that the company is engaged in “restructuring efforts.”
“The email falsely claims that FTX is now facilitating full asset withdrawals for all users,” the message conveyed.
BlockFi, FTX Creditors’ Email List Stolen From Mailer Lite’s Scam
Plumferno also revealed that the scammers leveraged a network of compromised emails stemming from the Mailer Lite data breach that occurred in January.
“There’s a high probability that these emails are linked to the MailerLite database breach earlier this year,” Plumferno pointed out. “This suspicion arises from the identical sender information found in both these fraudulent BlockFi emails.”
The blockchain investigator first became aware of the scam following a sudden influx of approximately $4.5 million worth of Ether into the scammer’s wallet last week.
Furthermore, according to reports, the scammers also acquired high-value NFTs, including Mutant Apes and Otherdeed.
