Reportedly, a crypto user lost nearly 7 million dollars in cryptocurrencies after buying a discounted cold wallet through the Chinese version of TikTok, Douyin, which turned out to be compromised.
The blockchain security company SlowMist claimed in a post on Saturday that "the private key was compromised at the moment of its creation" and that the user's funds "were drained within hours" of the compromised cold wallet.
Getting a cold wallet at a good price may seem like a good way to save money, but SlowMist claimed that cold wallets advertised as "factory sealed" or "discounted" have often been tampered with, and that the reduced price is a way to lure victims.
Cryptocurrencies "disappeared" in just a few hours
A user on X named Hella, a former team member who worked with Jihan Wu, co-founder of Bitcoin mining equipment manufacturer Bitmain, said that the victim was a close friend who called him late at night and "gave him chills."
Hella said the wallet was "a carefully designed trap" and that the stolen cryptocurrencies "vanished through Huiwang in a matter of hours," according to the Google translation of the post on Saturday on X.
Huiwang, also known as Huione Group, is a Cambodian conglomerate that operates a network of illegal businesses, including the payment service platform Huione Pay PLC, the cryptocurrency exchange Huione Crypto, and the darknet market Haowang Guarantee.
"When buying a cold wallet, one must choose a reliable channel. Most of those on the Internet are fake," said Hella.
The stolen funds cannot be recovered
SlowMist managed to trace the stolen funds, but Hella said there was "little hope of recovering them" from the thieves.
The information security director of SlowMist, under the username 23pds, said in a post translated by Google that this case is a significant reminder not to "risk your entire fortune on a wallet that is a few hundred dollars cheaper," because, ultimately, it is not "saving money, it is throwing your life overboard."
