Crypto Whale Loses $35M in Phishing Scam

A crypto whale has fallen victim to a phishing scam, losing $35 million in fwDETH.

Leading Blockchain security firm Scam Sniffer noted that the crypto whale address lost over 15,000 fwDETH tokens, worth nearly $35 million, in the phishing attack. Data from Arkham Intelligence linked the address to the venture firm Continue Capital, although the firm has not yet commented on the matter.

5 hours ago, someone lost 15,079 fwDETH($35M) after signing a “permit” phishing signature. pic.twitter.com/YG6KlgWMtv

— Scam Sniffer | Web3 Anti-Scam (@realScamSniffer) October 11, 2024

Angel Drainer Group Linked to Crypto Whale Attack

Meanwhile, the attack has been attributed to the notorious Angel Drainer group, a known provider of “draining-as-a-service” (DAAS). Yu Xian, founder of the blockchain security firm SlowMist, identified Angel Drainer’s involvement.

He also remarked that the group supplies scammers with phishing tools like fake social media accounts and websites. These tools enable phishing attacks in exchange for a share of the stolen funds.

The group’s methods have proven effective, as they contributed to the theft of $295 million worth of digital assets from 324,000 victims in 2023 alone. Phishing scams have remained a persistent issue in the crypto sector.

According to Scam Sniffer, such attacks resulted in losses of about $126 million in the third quarter of 2024 alone. The whale’s loss impacted the value of DETH, causing it to lose its 1:1 exchange rate with ETH.

On-chain analyst Ember CN disclosed that the attacker exchanged the stolen DETH for ETH via a decentralized exchange. However, the attacker was only able to obtain 2,288 ETH from the 14,079 DETH stolen due to a lack of sufficient liquidity in the DETH pool.

啊这…被 Arkham 标记疑似属于 @ContinueFund 的地址 7 小时前被钓鱼损失 15,079 枚 fwDETH ($35.98M)。

随后钓鱼实施者为快速将盗取资产转换为安全资产，直接通过 Swap 将 DETH 换回 ETH。但由于 DETH 池子深度不够，14,079 枚 DETH 仅仅换回了 2,288 ETH。池子都被他掏空了，DETH/WETH 高度脱锚。… https://t.co/YCVMfcNw3d pic.twitter.com/zvedPpyOf6

— 余烬 (@EmberCN) October 11, 2024

DETH Depeg Causes Market Disruption

Following the theft, the value of the digital assets fell sharply by 85%, marking a significant blow to its stability. Duo Exchange, a decentralized trading platform, confirmed the phishing attack on its platform.

In an Oct. 11 post on X, the exchange stated that over 10,000 DETH had been dumped on automated market makers (AMMs), causing a DETH price depeg. However, Duo Exchange reassured users that its systems remain fully operational and secure.

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The phishing attack affected individual wallets and the DeFi sector’s total value locked (TVL). Data from DeFillama showed a sharp drop in Duo Exchange’s TVL, from $103 million to $86 million, within a single day.