Gigachad Crypto Investor Loses $6.09 Million in Phishing Scam

Key Takeaways

•  The deceptive link mimicked a genuine Zoom meeting URL, redirecting the user to a malicious website
• The hacker stole 95.3 million GIGA tokens, worth approximately $6.09 million, including 11,759 SOL, valued at $2.1 million

A Gigachad (GIGA) memecoin investor suffered a significant financial blow, losing $6.09 million in a phishing attack. The scam, involving a fraud Zoom meeting link, targeted the victim’s wallet and led to the unauthorized transfer of funds. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and a digital forensics team are currently probing the incident.

The attack resulted in an unusual sell-off of GIGA tokens, which caused a noticeable drop in the token’s value. The victim, who goes by  “Still in the Game,” shared details about the hack on social media, explaining, “The massive sell on $GIGA today was due to one of my wallets being drained by a fake Zoom link. This hurts, but I’ll bounce back. I’m still in the game.”

According to Scam Sniffer, a crypto investigation firm, the phishing attack was executed through a fake Zoom invitation link. The deceptive link mimicked a genuine Zoom meeting URL, redirecting the user to a malicious website that harvested sensitive wallet information. Once the victim clicked the link, the malware was downloaded onto their device, giving the hacker access to their crypto wallets.

Blockchain analytics firm Onchain Lens revealed that the hacker stole 95.3 million GIGA tokens, worth approximately $6.09 million. The stolen tokens were quickly exchanged for other cryptocurrencies, including 11,759 Solana (SOL), valued at $2.1 million. The hacker then converted the funds into stablecoins Tether (USDT) and USD Coin (USDC) and transferred them to separate wallet addresses.

The attacker also transferred 700 SOL tokens indirectly to KuCoin. Despite the substantial loss, the investor remains hopeful. In a public statement, they expressed optimism about making up for the loss during the current crypto market upswing, stating, “I’m going to make it all back and more. Just watch me.”

This incident underscores the ongoing threat of phishing attacks in the cryptocurrency space. Phishing, a common tactic used by cybercriminals, involves tricking victims into clicking malicious links disguised as legitimate. In this case, the fake Zoom link closely resembled a real one, “us04-zoom[.]us,” versus the authentic “us02web.zoom[.]us.” The similarity made it difficult for the victim to detect the fraudulent link.

Scam Sniffer noted that while this type of phishing attack might seem straightforward, it often involves social engineering tactics. Attackers typically pose as trusted contacts or create a sense of urgency, prompting victims to click on malicious links without careful inspection.

Phishing scams in the crypto industry have become increasingly common in the crypto space. In 2024 alone, blockchain analytics firm CertiK reported over $750 million lost to phishing attacks in the third quarter.