Exodus Malicious Torrent File ColonelGray
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Reddit user ColonelGray stored a screenshot of their seed phrase on their PC when setting up their wallet. Some time later, they downloaded a malicious torrent file which ended up running a larger program. This resulted in the hacker gaining access to the seed phrase and using it to withdraw from their wallet.
This is a global/international case not involving a specific country. [1][2][3]
About Exodus
"Hey, I'm willing to come out admit that I was one of those idiots who screenshotted my seedphrase. This was when I was first getting into crypto so I did not really understand just how much of an foolish move that was, despite all the massive DO NOT DO THIS TURN BACK."
"So from what I’m hearing, a screenshot is a bad idea. Cool. Good thing I’m a crypto peasant."
"Cut to a few months ago and I accidently clicked on a malicious file from a torrent. I saw a command window appear for a millisecond and knew I'd fucked up. However, my last run in with a virus was just one of those 'buy our antivirus' malware deals. So I figured it would be much the same. I ran my antivirus and seemed to clear out some suspicious files."
"So I called it a goodnight and was just grateful I had not suffered for it."
"Then a couple of days later I check my exodus wallet and the balance was 0 whereas it had been 5k the day before."
"I immediately wiped all my drives and did a fresh install of windows."
"I felt like such a fool. I was presented with SO MANY chances to secure my crypto and I didn't even think to do one of them."
"It damn near threw me over the edge as my mother had just been diagnosed with cancer and I was planning to sell a portion of it to help cover some costs."
"Perhaps if I had not been so grief stricken I might have acted fast enough."
"But now it is just a cautionary tale, just like the ones I used to read and ignore lol."
This is a global/international case not involving a specific country.
The background of the exchange platform, service, or individuals involved, as it would have been seen or understood at the time of the events.
Include:
- Known history of when and how the service was started.
- What problems does the company or service claim to solve?
- What marketing materials were used by the firm or business?
- Audits performed, and excerpts that may have been included.
- Business registration documents shown (fake or legitimate).
- How were people recruited to participate?
- Public warnings and announcements prior to the event.
Don't Include:
- Any wording which directly states or implies that the business is/was illegitimate, or that a vulnerability existed.
- Anything that wasn't reasonably knowable at the time of the event.
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The Reality
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- When the service was actually started (if different than the "official story").
- Who actually ran a service and their own personal history.
- How the service was structured behind the scenes. (For example, there was no "trading bot".)
- Details of what audits reported and how vulnerabilities were missed during auditing.
What Happened
The specific events of the loss and how it came about. What actually happened to cause the loss and some of the events leading up to it.
| Date | Event | Description |
|---|---|---|
| January 2nd, 2022 7:27:02 AM | Main Event | Expand this into a brief description of what happened and the impact. If multiple lines are necessary, add them here. |
Total Amount Lost
The total amount lost has been estimated at $5,000 USD.
How much was lost and how was it calculated? If there are conflicting reports, which are accurate and where does the discrepancy lie?
Immediate Reactions
How did the various parties involved (firm, platform, management, and/or affected individual(s)) deal with the events? Were services shut down? Were announcements made? Were groups formed?
Ultimate Outcome
What was the end result? Was any investigation done? Were any individuals prosecuted? Was there a lawsuit? Was any tracing done?
Total Amount Recovered
There do not appear to have been any funds recovered in this case.
What funds were recovered? What funds were reimbursed for those affected users?
Ongoing Developments
What parts of this case are still remaining to be concluded?
Prevention Policies
Never screenshot the seed phrase. Always store it offline, and only offline.
References
- ↑ Got compromised and lost over $120k in crypto; AMA : CryptoCurrency (Jun 1, 2022)
- ↑ Got compromised and lost over $120k in crypto; AMA : CryptoCurrency (Jul 3, 2022)
- ↑ Live charts & portfolio (Jul 3, 2022)