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CoinStats and X Accounts Hacked Amid $573 Million Second Quarter Losses
Phew, the second quarter of 2024 was tough for cryptocurrencies. The cryptocurrency sector has faced an alarming wave of scams and cyberattacks, with losses exceeding $573 million. This week, we dive into the most significant incidents, including the troubling CoinStats breach and the massive X thefts.
Do you feel a shiver down your spine? Wondering how these attacks happened and what they mean for your crypto assets? We’ve got the inside scoop. Keep reading.
CoinStats Breach: A Hard Blow
On June 22, CoinStats, a major crypto platform, suffered a major security breach, resulting in the loss of $2 million from users’ wallets. Fortunately, the company was able to contain the situation before further losses occurred. However, approximately 1.3% of CoinStats wallets were compromised.
Narek Gevorgyan, CEO of CoinStats revealed that the breach was the result of a sophisticated social engineering attack, which involved installing malware and compromising an employee’s AWS credentials. Gevorgyan apologized and assured that CoinStats is exploring ways to assist affected users, although no specific refund plan was announced.
In recent weeks, several high-profile social media accounts have been hacked, most notably on X. These breaches have been used to promote fraudulent cryptocurrency investment schemes, highlighting vulnerabilities in account security.
One notable incident involved a YouTube channel affiliated with Seven Network. Hackers used the channel to spread a fake video featuring an AI-generated Elon Musk promoting a crypto scam. The video, which attracted over 100,000 viewers, encouraged viewers to download a fraudulent app and invest money with the promise of doubling their earnings before being removed.
Additionally, the official Twitter account for the band Metallica was compromised. Scammers used the account to promote a deceptive Solana token called METAL, which briefly spiked in value, reaching a market cap of $300 per token before crashing. Metallica management has since regained control of the account and removed all of the fraudulent posts.
Rapper 50 Cent’s Twitter account was also hacked, with scammers promoting a new token called GUNIT. The token saw an astonishing 8,000% price increase before dropping sharply. Despite dramatic price fluctuations, the token maintains a market capitalization of around $150,000.
Billionaire investor Mark Cuban was the victim of a phone phishing attack that compromised his Gmail account. This incident follows a troubling event earlier in the year, when Cuba’s crypto portfolio was drained of approximately $870,000.
Growing Trends: Hacks and Scams Statistics
The second quarter of 2024 saw a dramatic increase in cryptocurrency-related hacks and scams, with losses totaling $572.7 million, according to Immunefi. This represents a 70.3% increase over the $336.3 million lost in the previous quarter and nearly double the $265.5 million lost in the second quarter of 2023.
Cyberattacks involving cryptocurrencies are becoming a weekly occurrence, and the frequency of these attacks highlights the urgent need for strengthened security measures.
Read also: Crypto Hack Report Q1 2024: Trends, Losses and Recovery Efforts
Cryptocurrency: High risk, high reward… and apparently, high chance of being scammed. What do you think?