In the realm of cryptocurrency, users are often advised to take precautions and be vigilant to protect themselves from malicious actors. However, one investor recently shared his unfortunate experience of losing over $100,000 despite taking extensive measures to safeguard his funds.
Matthias Mende, co-founder of the Dubai Blockchain Center and creator of the social verification project Bonuz, recounted his story to Cointelegraph. He revealed that his assets and Solana Name Service (SNS) domains, “mende.sol” and “bonuz.sol,” were mysteriously drained on June 25. In light of this incident, Mende warned his followers about the presence of bad actors in the crypto space.
Mende expressed his confusion about how he had been compromised, emphasizing that he had implemented high-security measures and had not clicked on any suspicious links. Additionally, he disclosed that he does not store his seed phrases digitally.
The investor explained that he had participated in a token presale for Solana (SOL) and felt confident in his investment. However, a few days later, he discovered that his wallet had been emptied. The hacker initially sent out 320 SOL tokens worth approximately $46,000. Realizing that there were other tokens in the wallet, the attacker then sent back some SOL tokens to use as gas before completely draining the wallet. The total estimated value of the losses amounted to $100,000.
Mende admitted feeling devastated upon realizing that his funds had disappeared. However, instead of succumbing to despair, he chose to focus on the present and do what he could to address the situation.
Given his longstanding commitment to Web3 security, Mende found it astonishing that he had fallen victim to such an incident. In 2023, he had introduced Bonuz, a blockchain-based solution designed to combat social identity theft, as part of his social media identity verification project.
“I did not click any funny links. I did not connect the wallet with any funny stuff since I’m very secure. I used the Brave browser,” Mende asserted.
In response to the incident, Mende promptly reported it to Dubai’s cybercrime unit to ensure that the crypto exchanges could freeze the funds once they were transferred to their platforms. He also revealed his collaboration with forensic experts to track down the perpetrator, although their identity remains unknown.
Furthermore, Mende issued a plea to the hackers to return the funds, warning of potential legal action if they failed to do so. “This money will always be traced and will always get back to you. That’s blockchain. Please return the money within two days, and I will forgive you and not take any legal action,” Mende posted on X.
Unfortunately, the hacker did not respond to the plea.
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