A hack that drained $35 million from Atomic Wallet users since June 2 hit less than 1% of its monthly active users, according to the company. In the aftermath of the attack, Atomic Wallet – along with individual blockchain investigators – stepped up their efforts to track and recover the stolen funds.
Trying to cash in on the commotion, a few verified scam Twitter accounts impersonated Atomic Wallet while sharing phishing links claiming to help users recover lost funds.
The pseudonymous on-chain researcher ZachXBT further claimed to have helped a victim recover $1 million in lost funds. However, the recovery process has yet to be disclosed, which ZachXBT “will share over time, but it’s best not to do so at this time.”
A huge cry goes to @buffalu__ @brian_smith_0 for helping us successfully save $1 million from the Atomic Wallet hacker for one of the victims.
— ZachXBT (@zachxbt) June 4, 2023
Despite Atomic Wallet’s announcement, many users were still reporting loss of funds at the time of writing. Additionally, the community denounced the company’s attempt to mitigate the damage, when a user declared:
“% doesn’t matter, the hacker intends to focus only on the big fund wallet.”
The episode reflects on the importance of finding the right service provider when it comes to the custody of crypto assets. Moreover, it challenges the “not your keys, not your coins” narrative preached by many crypto wallet providers such as Atomic Wallet, as discussed below.
ZachXBT’s investigation revealed that the largest amount lost by an individual in the Atomic Wallet hack was $7.95 million in Tether (USDT) on the Tron blockchain. According to the latest update, the five biggest losses amount to $17 million.
Related: Gate.io threatens legal action over rumors
Over the weekend of June 4, a hacker took control of the cell phone belonging to pro-XRP (XRP) lawyer John Deaton. Deaton’s Twitter account was then used to sell LAW tokens.
John Deaton’s phone was hacked today after a relentless cyberattack spanning several days.
This is NOT a legitimate tweet. His account was hacked. He took immediate action to remedy the situation.
Please ignore it and all subsequent communications until you… https://t.co/anOjGBloEi
— CryptoLaw (@CryptoLawUS) June 3, 2023
Shortly after the tweet, Deaton and accounts representing him warned users about the hack and were advised against investing in cryptocurrency.
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