Billionaire Mark Cuban Falls Victim to Hot Wallet Hack
Billionaire Mark Cuban has recently fallen victim to a hot wallet hack, resulting in the loss of nearly $870,000 from his MetaMask wallet. The hack was initially detected by independent blockchain investigator @WazzCrypto on September 15th. Unusual activity was noticed in one of Cuban’s dormant wallets that had been inactive for around five months.
Multiple Asset Withdrawals and Suspicions
According to Etherscan’s transaction records, there was a rapid withdrawal of various assets, including USD Coin (USDC), Tether (USDT), and Lido Staked Ether (stETH), from the wallet within a brief 10-minute timeframe. Additionally, an extra $2 million worth of USDC was withdrawn and transferred to another wallet. These transactions have raised suspicions that Cuban may have been orchestrating asset transfers within his portfolio.
Mark Cuban Confirms the Theft
A few hours later, Mark Cuban himself confirmed to DL News that he had logged into MetaMask for the first time in months. Initially unaware of the recent wallet activities, he expressed that he believed someone had been monitoring his actions. Cuban incurred losses of approximately $870,000 across 10 different cryptocurrencies.
Cuban’s Experience with MetaMask
Cuban suspects that he downloaded a compromised version of MetaMask when he attempted to clean up his account on his phone. He mentioned that MetaMask crashed multiple times during this process. However, only the compromised account was affected, and Cuban successfully moved the remaining assets to Coinbase using their authentication dongle.
The Threat of Counterfeit MetaMask Extensions
Scammers often create counterfeit MetaMask extensions or applications to deceive users into revealing their private keys or seed phrases. Once they gain unauthorized access, scammers can easily empty users’ cryptocurrency wallets. Cuban stated that his other accounts were not affected by the hack.
Hot Take: Mark Cuban’s Cautionary Tale
Mark Cuban’s experience serves as a cautionary tale for crypto enthusiasts. It highlights the importance of using trusted sources and being vigilant while managing digital assets. Users should ensure they are downloading legitimate applications and extensions, and regularly update their security measures to protect against potential hacks and scams.
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