The CoinStats crypto portfolio app has decided to temporary pause all user activity after it become the latest victim of a security breach over the weekend. Cyber criminals behind the hack lured CoinStats users to click malicious links, falsely promising users of a reward worth 14.2 ETH or $48,128 (roughly Rs. 40.2 lakh). A total of 1,590 crypto wallets have been affected as part of this breach. This reportedly makes for 1.3 percent of CoinStats’ total wallet numbers.
Here’s what happened
CoinStats posted an official confirmation on June 22 about the hack via its X handle. The company’s post said that the hack mainly targeted iOS users.
The post also showed a screenshot of the fraudulent message that CoinStats users received. The message claimed that the recipients had won a reward of 14.2 ETH from a pool of 200 ETH. Furthermore, the message directed CoinStats users to enter their AirScout wallets leading to an eventual draining of funds from these wallets.
Hey frens,
Some iOS users received a scam notification. We’re investigating it.
Sorry for the inconvenience. We’ll update you ASAP.
Thanks for your understanding. pic.twitter.com/8CRBrC6JxB
— CoinStats (@CoinStats) June 22, 2024
Some private keys that were stored on the servers of CoinStats have also reportedly been violated as part of this attack. This has caused the company to believe that hackers may have been able to enter the internal systems from where wallets are generated for its users.
For now, the exact amount of funds stolen from this hack remains unclear. CoinStats has released a list of wallet addresses that have been compromised in this incident.
What is CoinStats doing to mitigate after-effects?
Following the incident, CoinStats has launched an internal investigation into the matter. In the coming days, the company plans to re-start the app after having completed the probe process.
Details about the involvement of law enforcement authorities also remains unclear for now.
The company plans to get in touch with affected users with updates in the coming days. As of now, CoinStats has not said anything about offering compensations to the affected users.
Crypto sector continues to attract hackers
In May 2024, over $473 million (roughly Rs. 3,950 crore) worth of cryptocurrencies were reportedly lost to hacks and rug pulls across 108 incidents, as per Immunefi, a security service provider.
Over the weekend itself, the crypto sector witnessed another hack incident when Turkish crypto exchange BtcTurk claimed that it was hacked and several of its hot wallets were accessed, with crypto stolen from some of them. Binance is helping BtcTurk in its probe and has reportedly frozen $5.3 million (roughly Rs. 44 lakh) worth of funds linked to this attack.
