Phishing fraud via fake Zoom link costs GIGA investor $6 million

A crypto memecoin investor holding Gigachad (GIGA) tokens lost $6.09 million in a phishing attack involving a fake Zoom meeting link.

On November 12, GIGA recorded an unusual price drop, caused by a massive sell-off. Shortly afterwards, prominent pseudonymous GIGA investor Still in the Game proactively got to work warned against the involvement of a hacker:

“I just want to be transparent: $GIGA’s huge sale today was due to one of my wallets being drained by a fake Zoom link. This hurts, but I’ll be back. I will always stay in the game.”

According to crypto research firm Scam Sniffer, the victim clicked on a fake Zoom call invitation link, which redirected them to a deceptive website designed to collect sensitive wallet information.

Phishing, hackers, scams, hacks, memecoin — *Source:* *Scam sniffer*

Phishing link installs crypto malware on computer

Still in the Game said the phishing website installed malware on their laptop, which the hacker later used to collect funds from three crypto wallets into one before cashing out the funds.

Onchain analytics firm Onchain Lens discovered that the hacker stole 95.3 million GIGA tokens from the victim, worth $6.09 million.

The hacker exchanged the stolen GIGA tokens for 11,759 Solana (SOL) worth $2.1 million before converting to Tether (USDT) and USD coin (USDC) stable coins.

The hacker moved the stablecoins to another wallet address, while another 700 SOL tokens were indirectly transferred to the crypto exchange KuCoin.

Law enforcement gets involved to investigate GIGA theft

The victim said they called in the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation and a forensic team to recover the stolen money.

Despite the uncertainty over the funds’ recovery, investors were optimistic about recouping losses in the ongoing bull market. “I’m going to bring it all back and more. Just look at me,” they added.

Following the recent demise of Indian crypto exchange WazirX following a $235 million hack, its founder, Nischal Shetty, announced plans to explore building a separate decentralized exchange (DEX). He added:

“The best part is that you can keep your belongings here – your belongings are completely under your control – and you can freely trade or do whatever you want with your belongings.”

The plan includes the possible launch of a corresponding DEX token to pay fees on the platform and provide a governance tool.

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