In a disturbing turn of events, the X account (formerly Twitter) of Ethereum co-founder and prominent crypto influencer Vitalik Buterin fell victim to a security breach orchestrated by nefarious actors promoting a cryptocurrency scam. The breach was executed through a deceptive post, masquerading as Vitalik Buterin himself, celebrating the arrival of “Proto-Danksharding” on the Ethereum network. The post offered unsuspecting victims the opportunity to obtain seemingly “free” non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
Allegedly, the scam caused substantial financial damage, with victims reporting losses exceeding $690,000. Vitalik Buterin’s father, Dmitry Buterin, promptly alerted X users to the fraudulent tweet, confirming Vitalik’s hacking and stating that efforts were underway to regain control of the account.
The fraudulent post urged individuals to follow a provided link, connect their cryptocurrency wallets, and claim the commemorative collectibles. Notable figures within the Ethereum community, including Ethereum developer Bok Khoo, fell prey to the scam, leading to the loss of valuable assets. Khoo publicly shared his loss on Twitter, cautioning others against interacting with the fraudulent offer.
Crypto detective ZachXBT, known for his efforts to unveil fraudulent schemes in the crypto sphere, disclosed that the attackers had successfully drained $691,000 worth of assets. Among the stolen assets, two CryptoPunks NFTs stood out, with estimated values of 153.62 ETH (approximately $250,000 at the time of reporting) and 58.18 ETH, respectively.
This incident is not isolated, as crypto scammers continue to exploit social media profiles of influential figures within the industry. Earlier this year, Uniswap founder Hayden Adams suffered a similar breach, prompting speculation that the same group of hackers, referred to as “Pink Drainer,” may be behind these attacks.
The crypto community remains on high alert, emphasizing the importance of vigilance and caution when engaging with online offers, especially those that appear too good to be true. In June, prominent Bitcoin critic Peter Schiff’s Twitter account was compromised, with hackers promoting a fictitious cryptocurrency token called $GOLD as a revolutionary development for gold-backed decentralized finance (DeFi).
