Over $356M Lost to Hacks, Phishing Scams and Rug Pulls in Crypto in November: Beosin

Last updated: December 1, 2023 01:41 EST
. 1 min read

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Beosin EagleEye’s latest report exposes a massive surge in blockchain security incidents during November 2023, leading to a staggering total loss of over $356 million.

This marked an alarming 6.9-fold increase compared to the losses reported in October.

Hacker Attacks Resulted in $335 Million Loss Alone

Hacker attacks took the lion’s share of the losses, accounting for approximately $335.63 million. The two high-profile incidents involving stolen funds exceeding $100 million each shook the industry.

Cryptocurrency exchange Poloniex fell victim to a hack of approximately $126 million, while HTX, along with its affiliated cross-chain bridge HECO Bridge, suffered a theft of approximately $110 million.

Remarkably, these two incidents, both affiliated with Sun Yuchen, constituted a significant 66% of the total losses attributed to hacker attacks in November.

Phishing scams also witnessed a surge, with individual addresses falling prey to schemes exceeding $1 million.

The global cryptocurrency landscape experienced a spike in crime cases involving amounts exceeding $100 million, encompassing various forms of fraud and money laundering.

Exchanges, both centralized (CEX) and decentralized (DEX), bore the brunt of security incidents in November, with a combined loss of $215 million.

Poloniex, HTX, CoinSpot, dYdX, and KyberSwap were among the affected platforms.

The report issues a stern recommendation for major projects to fortify private key management, conduct routine security audits, establish emergency response plans, and intensify security awareness training for privileged employees.

Phishing Scams and Rug Pulls Witness an Uptick

The phishing scam landscape, witnessing an uptick in incidents, prompts user advisories to securely store private keys, exercise caution during signing procedures, and avoid engagement with suspicious content.

On the regulatory front, the US Treasury Department took action against cryptocurrency mixing platform Sinbad.

Allegations linked the platform to North Korean hackers, accusing Sinbad of handling funds from Horizon Bridge and Axie Infinity hacking incidents.

Sinbad faces sanctions for purported involvement in activities such as evading sanctions, drug trafficking, purchasing materials for child sexual abuse, and participating in illegal sales on the dark web market.