Microstrategy Hack – Fake MSTR Airdrop Costs Users $440,000
Journalist
Posted:
- At the time of this writing, users had a total of $440,000 lost to phishing scam.
- MicroStrategy has not yet officially confirmed the hack.
MicroStrategy’s X account (formerly Twitter). MicroStrategy is the largest publicly traded Bitcoin holder in the world. [BTC]Recently used to send a phishing AirDrop message.
An X user named Spreek brought the incident to light on February 26th at 12:40 UTC.
The now-deleted snippet showed MicroStrategy announcing the launch of MSTR, a token fully backed by BTC reserves.
Users were tricked into clicking on the AirDrop links, after which their crypto assets were stolen. ZachXBT, an on-chain investigator, estimated losses at $440,000.
MicroStrategy has yet to confirm the hack and further details are awaited.
MicroStrategy, co-founded by Bitcoin enthusiast Michal Saylor and reported in its Q4 2023 earnings report, held 190,000 BTC. At current market prices, this value was $9.8 billion.
Phishing attacks are on the rise
Scam Sniffer from Web3’s anti-scam platform estimates that crypto phishing scams will cost almost $300 million in 2023. Over 320,000 people are likely to fall victim to these fraudulent campaigns.
In January 2024, this trend continued when over 40,000 victims were robbed of $55 million.
Scam Sniffer analyzed the trends in January.
It is clear that thefts peaked almost daily, mostly related to airdrops and popular projects.
AirDrops are increasingly being used to steal money. Hackers used Web3 companies’ email systems to send AirDrop links last month.
The coordinated phishing attacks resulted in losses of up to $580,000.
It is always best to do some research before deciding whether to accept an offer or not. You should look out for warning signs such as: B. sending any type of crypto assets to receive AirDropped tokens.
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