QUADRIGA INITIATIVE
CRYPTO WATCHDOG & FRAUD RECOVERY PLATFORM
A COMMUNITY-BASED, NOT-FOR-PROFIT
$62 000 USD
MAY 2018
GLOBAL
EOS
DESCRIPTION OF EVENTS
"EOS is a platform that uses the blockchain technology for the development of decentralized applications (dapps), very similar to Ethereum in function. As a matter of fact, supporters have dubbed it as the “Ethereum killer”. By providing an operating-system-like set of services and features that dapps can make use of, it makes dapp development very easy."
"EOSIO is a highly performant open-source blockchain platform, built to support and operate safe, compliant, and predictable digital infrastructures." "EOSIO is a leading open-source software for blockchain innovation and performance. As one of the most performant, customizable, and secure blockchains available, it offers industry-leading speed, scalability, configurability, and the latest security standards." "Block.one is also the originator of EOSIO, the leading open-source blockchain software that provides developers and businesses with the tools to build the infrastructure of tomorrow."
"On June 2, 2018, EOS transitioned from the Ethereum network to the EOS MainNet chain." "If the EOS tokens you have now in your Ethereum wallet have not been registered by the deadline date (1 June 2018 22:59:59 UTC/GMT), then your EOS tokens will not be part of the snapshot that will be taken shortly after this deadline. And if your EOS tokens are not in this snapshot, they may as well not exist. Why? Because after block.one releases EOS.IO 1.0 on 2 June 2018, any entity that decides to launch an EOS platform that adopts the EOS.IO software will be looking at this snapshot to decide who should receive via “airdrops” its own variant of EOS “coins.”"
"Block.one wishes to remind EOS ERC-20 token holders, in addition to third parties holding such tokens for others, of their risks and responsibilities under the EOS Token Contract, specifically in relation to the registration of tokens prior to the June 1, 2018 token freeze. All concerned are advised to carefully review the EOS Token Purchase Agreement, as revised on September 4, 2017."
"On May 27, 2018, members of the EOS.IO community found themselves the target of a phishing campaign." "The phishing attack involved an email that was sent out to several members of the EOS community — people who had been in email communication with block.one — that included a link to a scam website pretending to be an official site for EOS token registration ahead of the upcoming mainnet launch. This attack was quite sophisticated in that some of the emails sent out actually came from block.one’s Zendesk support system, which had been temporarily breached when these emails were sent."
"The fraudulent email had the words “upcoming June 1st update” in its subject line. The website referenced in the email — “eoslaunch.io” — is not in any way associated with block.one. According to the results of a WHOIS lookup, the “eoslaunch.io” domain was registered by GoDaddy on 26 May 2018. This means that this phishing scam could have only started on this date."
"Block.one says that it “learned of this matter quickly after it occurred.” It seems as though they were first alerted to this scam when Reddit user “designeey” made a post on 27 May 2018 on the EOS Subredit with the subject line “Please Help!! Scammed by developers@block.one email”, in which he claimed that he had become the victim of a phishing attack, as a result of which 5,158 EOS tokens (at press time, according to data from CryptoCompare, worth around $61,500) were stolen."
"Block.one says that as soon as it heard about this attack it sent out an email to all the users that had received the phishing email via its Zendesk system. The company has temporarily shut down its Zendesk support system so that it can investigate how this system was breached."
"This message is to inform you that several members of the EOSIO community received a phishing email on May 27 that included a link to a scam website claiming to be able to register EOS Tokens ahead of the end of the EOS Token distribution. Some of these emails came from the Block.one Zendesk support system, which was temporarily breached when the message was sent."
"This message, which contains the words “upcoming June 1st update!” in its subject line, is not an official Block.one communication. The website it references, eoslaunch.io, has been flagged as a scam by the Ethereum Phishing Detector and it is in no way affiliated with Block.one or EOSIO. Block.one has not released any new site."
"Block.one learned of this matter quickly after it occurred and sent an email to the addresses that received the phishing message to warn users. The company has also temporarily shut down Zendesk as it investigates the matter. As a result, users may experience slightly longer delays than normal for support responses and we apologize for any inconvenience caused."
"Block.one is also investigating the method by which the sender of the phishing email was able to mimic or utilize actual Block.one email addresses. We believe that the sender had access to certain Block.one systems and may have seen emails sent to or from email addresses related to Block.one and its affiliates. Through that access, the sender may have seen personal information if it was communicated in an email."
"Block.one takes information security seriously and we encourage everyone in the community to remain on high alert for scams, phishing, hacks and other activities from bad actors as the end of the token distribution occurs."
"Block.one released an EOSIO 1.0 Update on May 15. Additional official information on the token freeze and registration can be found on the Block.one website and at our GitHub."
"We will continue to keep you informed with new information as it becomes available and will work hard to fight off potential future attacks."
EOS migrated from the Ethereum blockchain to it's own EOS blockchain in June 2018, and users needed to migrate their tokens across to the new chain. The confusion of the migration created an opportunity for scammers to give users instructions to send their tokens to them instead of properly transferring them. One of these phishing attacks was launched through the official support system of Block.one, granting the appearance of legitimacy. One such user who fell for the attack lost 5,158 EOS, worth around $65k at the time. It is unclear if any of the lost funds were recovered.
HOW COULD THIS HAVE BEEN PREVENTED?
Users who self-custody funds need to pay special attention to the source of communication and only ever interact with the official website of the token or protocol which they are using. It is far safer to wait and assess the legitimacy of any communication before proceeding with any transfer.
Most exchange platforms handled the upgrade for users.
Crypto Investor Becomes Victim of Phishing Attack and Loses 5,158 EOS Tokens When He Tries to Register Them | Cryptoglobe (Apr 23)
https://etherscan.io/tx/0x1fb30cd1ab77e832f37bb6e58251fc38c7e94c208c4e0d02697f9bdf9dbb4713 (May 27)
https://b1.com/press/phishing-email-statement/ (May 29)
https://b1.com/press/community-reminder-eos-token-registration-and-freeze/ (May 29)
https://eos.io/ (May 29)
Scam Alert Eosio Users Targeted By Phishing Email (May 29)
https://b1.com/ (May 29)
https://b1.com/about/ (May 29)
https://support.kraken.com/hc/en-us/articles/360000751903-Token-migration-for-EOS-Jun-2018 (May 29)
EOS Blockchain Upgrade (Mainnet Launch) and Token Migration: Everything You Need to Know | Cryptoglobe (May 29)
https://medium.datadriveninvestor.com/eos-oversimplified-a-beginners-guide-to-eos-io-cryptocurrency-4b1ee4465736?gi=f62babde20e3 (May 29)
