Over the past day, X users have been raising concerns over a scam email following the recent multi-million dollar hack of cryptocurrency exchange WazirX. This development comes as WazirX management is rolling out several measures to recover the stolen funds.
Malicious actors exploit WazirX hack with phishing scams
On July 18, Indian exchange WazirX victimized to a sophisticated attack when hackers breached the security of one of the exchange’s multisg wallets, resulting in the loss of approximately $235 million in assets. Following this incident, it seems that malicious actors are now trying to use the situation to their advantage.
In an X-post on July 19, an account named Aditya Chakraborty shared Screenshots of an email from a strange party posing as WazirX. In this email, this suspicious entity claimed that the exchange would provide compensation to users affected by the hack through the launch of a new token known as WZA.
The email read:
In response to this breach, WazirX is implementing a comprehensive refund plan to ensure our users are compensated. We are introducing a new token, WZA, which will be airdropped to all affected users. The distribution will be based on the value of assets lost in the hack, and we aim to initiate this process within the next 30 days.
Additionally, the email also provided a website for users to join and initiate the refund process. However, Chakraborty and other X users were able to tag the email as fake and likely a scam.
Sumit Gupta, CEO of fellow Indian exchange CoinDCX, responded to the July 20 post: pushed cryptocurrency users to remain vigilant and verify the validity of all emails received. To do this, he advised them to check the sender’s email and the authenticity of each website link.
WazirX Launches Bounty Program to Recover Assets
In an X-post on Saturday, Nischal Shetty, CEO of WazirX, said shared The exchange is now taking several steps to recover the stolen assets following the July 18 hack. Shetty stated that WazirX is mapping the entire extent of the security bridge and has also engaged experts to continuously trace the transfer of the stolen funds.
The WazirX team is actively working on the next steps.
1. We are preparing a bounty program to help us freeze/recover the stolen assets
2. Further discussions on continuous tracking of money movements. We are in contact with a number of teams who claim to be experts in this area.
3. We have informed everyone…— Nischal (Shardeum) 🔼 (@NischalShetty) July 20, 2024
Additionally, WazirX has also reached out to other exchanges for assistance while following all established law enforcement and regulatory protocols. Finally, the Indian exchange is gearing up to launch a bounty program that will intensify collective efforts to recover the loot. A bounty in this context refers to a specific amount of money given to independent experts to track down hackers and recover the stolen funds. It is usually a fixed percentage of the original loot.
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