Pink Drainer Hackers Steal $4.4 Million in Chainlink Tokens
Date: 2023-12-29 Author: Dima Zakharov Categories: IN WORLD
The Heist
In a shocking turn of events, a user was targeted and defrauded by the infamous Pink Drainer hacker group, resulting in a staggering loss of $4.4 million in Chainlink tokens (LINK). The cybercriminals executed two transactions that emptied the victim's wallet of 275,700 LINK, equivalent to $4.33 million at the current exchange rate. The attack is suspected to have relied on social engineering, one of the most commonly employed tactics by Pink Drainer members.
Follow the Money Trail
The cybercriminals transferred approximately 68,925 LINK to a wallet labeled as "PinkDrainer: Wallet 2" on Etherscan, while another 206,775 LINK was sent to a different address. On-chain investigator ZachXBT revealed that the stolen funds were laundered through the cryptocurrency exchange eXch.
Pink Drainer's History of Attacks
According to data from Dune, in 2023 alone, Pink Drainer targeted and defrauded 9,000 users, amassing a total of over $18 million. The most profitable periods for the group were spring and summer, during which they impersonated journalists. In June, nearly 2,000 investors were duped out of more than $2.9 million. Their primary modus operandi involved social engineering, where they posed as reporters from reputable outlets such as Decrypt and Cointelegraph.
This scheme has become widespread, with a recent surge in incidents where hackers pretended to be well-known journalists and lured users into interviews, subsequently attempting to compromise their accounts. Even collectors of Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) were not spared, as one imposter claimed to be a Forbes editor, sending phishing links to victims.
Immunefi analysts estimate that hackers have stolen approximately $1.8 billion worth of cryptocurrency in the past year.
