Crypto Whale Loses $32 Million in Malicious Transaction

A crypto whale has reportedly lost over $32 million worth of tokens after signing a malicious transaction, as noted by the blockchain security service ScamSniffer.

The loss involves wrapped ether tokens from the decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol Spark, with 12,083 spWETH tokens drained from the wallet, valued at approximately $32.4 million.

According to blockchain intelligence firm Arkham, the malicious transaction was facilitated by the Inferno Drainer scam-as-a-service. This service targets users with counterfeit versions of popular DeFi applications to trick them into granting control of their wallets. Since its inception, it has stolen over $215 million from more than 200,000 victims, as reported by a Dune Analytics dashboard created by ScamSniffer.

Operators of Inferno Drainer reportedly take a 20% commission on stolen tokens. Although the service was initially shut down in November 2023, it re-emerged in May this year, boasting to be “better than ever” with new staff, features, and support across 28 different blockchains and hundreds of DeFi apps.

While the identity of the targeted whale has not been confirmed, blockchain investigator ZachXBT has linked large transactions to a wallet owned by a whale known as CZSamSun, which should not be confused with @samczsun, a researcher at VC firm Paradigm.

A message from the victim’s wallet offered a 20% reward for the return of the stolen funds; however, there has been no response from the alleged scammer.

To avoid phishing attempts, analytics firm LookOnChain advises users not to click unknown links or sign unfamiliar signatures, and to always double-check signatures before signing them.