a trick that drained $35 million from Atomic Wallet users since June 2 impacted less than 1% of its monthly active users, according to the company Following the attack, Atomic Wallet, along with individual blockchain researchers, have intensified efforts to track down and reverse the stolen funds.
Trying to capitalize on the commotion, some verified fraudulent Twitter accounts impersonated Atomic Wallet while sharing phishing links that claimed to help users recover lost funds.
Pseudonymous on-chain investigator ZachXBT further claimed to have helped a victim recover $1 million of lost funds. However, the recovery process has yet to be revealed, which ZachXBT will supposedly "share in time, but he better not yet."
A big greeting goes to @buffalu__ @brian_smith_0 for helping us successfully rescue $1 million from the Atomic Wallet hacker for one of the victims.
— ZachXBT (@zachxbt) June 4, 2023
Despite the Atomic Wallet announcement, numerous users were still reporting loss of funds at the time of writing. In addition, the community denounced the company's attempt to mitigate the damage, since a user fixed:
"% doesn't matter, the hacker intends to target only the big fund wallet."
The episode reflects on the importance of researching the right service provider when it comes to crypto asset custody. Furthermore, it challenges the “not your keys, not your coins” narrative preached by numerous crypto wallet providers like Atomic Wallet, as shown below.
ZachXBT's research found 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 top five losses represent $17 million.
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Over the weekend on June 4, a hacker took control of the mobile phone owned by pro-XRP (XRP) attorney, John Deaton. Deaton's Twitter account was later used to sell LAW tokens.
John Deaton's phone has been hacked today after a relentless cyber attack over several days.
This is NOT a legitimate tweet. Your account has been taken. He has taken immediate steps to remedy the situation.
Please ignore him and all his communications until... https://t.co/anOjGBloEi
— CryptoLaw (@CryptoLawUS) June 3, 2023
Shortly after the tweet, Deaton and the accounts representing him warned users about the hack and advised against investing in the cryptocurrency.
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