Risks of copying and pasting titles: losing $9 million in a real incident

A simple copy-and-paste operation nearly cost a cryptocurrency user a fortune. In a recent unfortunate incident, an investor lost 4,556 ETH (currently worth about $9 million at the current ETH price of $1.97K) due to a single unforgivable mistake. This is not a fictional story but a stark reminder of the importance of careful verification before executing any transaction on the blockchain.

How was the scam carried out?

The user was accustomed to sending funds to a trusted Galaxy Digital address. The hacker employed a deceptive method: creating a fake address called “the sting” that shares the first four and last four characters with the original address, creating significant confusion. To reinforce the illusion of legitimacy, the attacker sent small test transactions from this fake address, making the address appear active and credible.

The critical mistake and the copy-paste process

The user tried to act quickly and decided to copy the address directly from their previous transaction history. The disaster was that they didn’t realize this history included the hacker’s fake address. With a single click on paste, 4,556 ETH (worth $12.4 million at the time of the incident) was transferred directly to the hacker’s wallet. As with all blockchain transactions, this process was final and irreversible.

Essential security tips to protect your wallet

This painful lesson teaches us vital security lessons:

Triple-check every character: Before clicking “Send,” verify the address character by character. Don’t rely on copying from old records, as hackers are highly skilled at mimicking addresses precisely.

Use only trusted sources: Always verify wallet addresses through official websites or trusted channels, not from your personal records.

Don’t rush: Cryptocurrency transactions cannot be canceled or reversed. Take your time, even if the market seems to be waiting. An extra second could save you millions.

Mistakes happen to everyone, even experienced traders, but with extra security measures for your transactions, you reduce the risk of becoming the next victim.