A trader has shared their unfortunate experience on X, describing how they lost their entire life savings to an unexpected scam on Binance. CryptoNakamao, a trader with the username โX,โ said that his Binance account started trading randomly on May 24. He didnโt notice it until he opened the Binance app to check the price of Bitcoin.
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CryptoNakamao begins explaining his ordeal by saying, โI became a victim of an undercover agent in the cryptocurrency circle, and $1 million in my Binance account was wiped out. Until now, I am still confused. This is almost all my savings in the past few years.โ
Hackers Target Binance Users with Chrome Pluginย
A Chinese crypto trader was hacked on Binance. Without getting Nakamaoโs account password or 2FA, the hacker stole nearly all the funds in his account through โcounter-trading.โ Nakamao adds โI never thought that my assets would be cleared out in this way. I want to warn crypto investors not to become the next me!โ
On his way home, he saw QTUM/BTC rise by 21%, DASH/BTC by 27%, PYR/BTC by 31%, ENA/USDC by 22%, and NEO/USDC by 20% due to purchases on his account. He says that he didnโt notice these operations until he opened his account to check the BTC price an hour and a half later.
ๆไนๆ ๆไธๅธๅฎๅไปปไฝๆไบใๆไนๅพๅฐๆฌไฝไธ็ๆฌไธๅไธบไบบ๏ผไนๆ่ฐขsisi็็่งฃใๆ็ปไธไผๆถๆ็ผ้ ่ฏๆฏๅธๅฎใ
— Nakamao๐ซก (@CryptoNakamao) June 3, 2024
ๆๆ็ๆถๆฏ๏ผ้ฝๆฏๆๅจ่ขซ็ๅ๏ผ่ชๅทฑไธ็น็นๅปๆพ็ธๅ ณไบบๅ่ฟฝๆฅ็ใ้ฝๆฏๆ้ฎๅบๆฅ็ใๅ ณไบๆไปถ็ๅฎๅ จ้ฎ้ขๅธๆ่ฝ้ฎ่ชๅทฑ็ๅฎๅ จๅข้ใๆ่ ๅ็ฅๆๅๅ ๏ผๆ่ช็ถๅๅ ๅธฎๅฟๆฒ้ใโฆ pic.twitter.com/HqT2EfhpHx
According to the trader, the hackers managed to access his web browser cookie data, which they obtained through a Chrome plugin named โAggr.โ Upon installing the plugin, the trader quickly discovered that malicious software had been developed with the intention of stealing usersโ web browsing data and cookies.
Using the collected cookies, the hacker hijacked active user sessions without any need for a password or authentication. They then executed multiple leveraged trades, deliberately increasing the price of low liquidity pairs and profiting from these manipulations.
Binanceโs Frail Response to the Hack
Despite unusually high trading activity, the trader says that the exchange failed to implement critical security measures. Moreover, despite receiving timely complaints, the exchange failed to take action to halt the behavior. He adds, โBut what I didnโt expect was that [..]ย the Binance staff still took more than a day to notify Kucoin and Gate to freeze the funds transferred by the hacker.โ
During his investigation, the trader uncovered that Binance had prior knowledge of the fraudulent plugin and had already initiated an internal investigation. Although aware of the hackerโs address and the deceptive plugin scam, the trader expressed disappointment in the exchange for not notifying traders or implementing any measures to prevent the fraud.
Nakamaoโs adds:
Binance did nothing even though it knew of the theft and frequent cross-trading. Hackers manipulated accounts for over an hour, causing extremely abnormal transactions in multiple currency pairs without any risk control; Binance failed to freeze the funds of the obvious hackerโs single account in the platform on time.
CryptoNakamao
The trader argues that no matter what, the problem with the plugin could have been announced and worked out weeks before Alpha Tree announced the plugin problem to the crypto community.
The Trader Praises He Yiโs Professionalism
The trader says, โI have no intention of fighting with Binance. I also respect He Yiโs professionalism and character, and I am grateful for sisiโs understanding.โ However, this plug-in problem has been around for a while.
Nakamao remains heavily disappointed with the crypto exchange. He adds, โI always read articles about Binance highlighting its security. The word โsecurityโ is always included in Binanceโs annual summary every year, which makes me full of confidence in Binance.โ Nakamao wants his ordeal to be a cautionary tale to all crypto investors using centralized crypto exchanges and hackable plugins.
Cryptopolitan Reporting By Florence Muchai
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