Hacker targets Bitcoin wallet containing billions USD from Mt. Gox

A Bitcoin wallet containing 8.7 billion USD $BTC , believed to be the funds stolen from the collapsed exchange Mt. Gox, is becoming the target of a phishing scam. The attackers sent an OP_RETURN transaction to this wallet address, containing a text message leading to a phishing website.

Details of the attack

The targeted wallet address is 1FeexV6bAHb8ybZjqQMjJrcCrHGW9sb6uF, which received 79.956 BTC in 2011 from the Mt. Gox hack. The phishing website, impersonating "Saloman Brothers" (a defunct Wall Street investment bank), claims the wallet "appears to be lost or abandoned" and seeks to collect personal information from the owner.

BitMEX Research has warned that this website is "illegal" and part of an "ongoing Bitcoin scam scheme," targeting several wallet addresses from 2011.

Context of the Mt. Gox incident

This attack is related to the Bitcoin stolen from #MtGox , the crypto exchange that closed over a decade ago following multiple hacks. A total of 850,000 Bitcoin (worth over 92.3 billion USD today) was stolen. Although a rehabilitation proposal was approved in 2021 to compensate customers, only 140,000 Bitcoin has been recovered. Many of the remaining coins remain dormant in wallet addresses like this targeted address.