Bitcoin Whale Hacked, Losing $45 Million worth Of BTC And BCH To A SIM Swap Hacker

The latest bitcoin hack involves a simple SIM swap mechanism. In this hack, a
bitcoin Whal e was said to have been hacked off of both Bitcoins (BTC) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH). In the ruthless act which leaves the Chinese whale perplexed and grasping for life, the hacker in question was labeled to have taken control of more than 42 million dollars at present rate.

acked off of both Bitcoins (BTC) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH). In the ruthless act which leaves the Chinese whale perplexed and grasping for life, the hacker in question was labeled to have taken control of more than 42 million dollars at present rate.

Bitcoin Whale Hacked – An Unfortunate Hack

Earlier today, bitcoin Whale suspected to be twitter user, @zhoujianfu took to Reddit to alert the community that both his bitcoin and bitcoin cash wallets had been hacked and funds worth millions of dollars had been stolen. During the act, bitcoin worth $15 million and bitcoin cash worth of $30 million were altogether stolen.

Depressed by the situation, the victim, who supposedly is the founder of Dreamhost and also worked on bitcoin builder, begged the community of bitcoin miners for help while promising a substantial reward in the process. He wrote on Reddit,

“[This] is my address, goddamnit. [The transactions] only [have] 3 confirmations, if any miners/the community can help somehow, I’ve got the private keys. Help, help, help… big reward obviously.”

The Redditor attached his bitcoin address and private keys to his Reddit post for further clarity. According to investigations, $30 million worth of (around 100,000 coins) and $15 million worth of bitcoins (1,550 coins) were stolen. The stolen funds were also seen to have been distributed in bits among several addresses.

How Did It Happen?

According to the “Chinese whale,” as cryptocurrency commentator and investor Dovey Wan predicted, it was a SIM swap. (Importantly, these claims remain unverified. Typically, many people question the fact someone would store such a large sum of Bitcoin and BCH on a platform that can be accessed through one cellphone. There may be context missing that has yet to be revealed.)

For those unaware, a SIM swap is when a hacker takes over one’s cellular identity. Specifically, their cell phone number, often through social engineering tactics.

SIM Swaps Attacks On The Rise

Last year, a handful of investors on twitter reported cases of cryptocurrency theft resulting from SIM Swap. At the time, a wave of U.S. crypto community members has become victims of SIM swapping attacks over the past month. More than 50 victims have reportedly lost over USD 35 million to hackers in the San Francisco Bay area alone.

SIM swapping is not a new threat. However, more than USD 50 million has been reported stolen from over 800 individuals since 2018, but a new wave of coordinated attacks targets U.S. cryptocurrency holders, especially those using “hot”, or online crypto-wallets.

Image Source – Flickr