Crypto-Thief Toolkit Pink Drainer Retires After Stealing $85 Million in Digital Assets
Summary:
The infamous cryptocurrency theft toolkit, Pink Drainer, has announced its retirement after aiding in the theft of over $85 million in crypto assets. The announcement was made via the encrypted messaging service Telegram. Following this, all data related to Pink Drainer will be securely wiped. The move continues a trend in crypto theft, with major services like Inferno Drainer and Monkey Drainer shutting down after significant thefts. Despite the relief these shutdowns bring, the existence of other draining services like Angel Drainer suggests the threat remains.
In an unexpected message via Telegram, the infamous cryptocurrency draining software known as Pink Drainer has announced its retirement. It attained its objective of aiding in the theft of more than $85 million in digital assets. Following this announcement, the architecture of this cyber-operation will begin to disassemble. All acquired data will be meticulously purged and irrecoverably annihilated. When 'Pink', the developer running the confidential messaging channel, was asked to comment on this matter by Cointelegraph, their response was, “I am unwilling to make a statement. Farewell.” Immediately after this, the entire Telegram conversation history was removed.
Crypto detective ZachXBT revealed a photo of the closing declaration of Pink Drainer's Telegram channel, which signals the end of this notorious drainware service after pilfering over $75 million. This information was obtained from ZachXBT's original source.
PeckShieldAlert, a cyber defense service, also confirmed the channel's closure whilst alerting the public that addresses associated with Pink Drainer had collectively committed nearly 18.1 million $DAI to Spark - roughly equating to 1.35% of all the $sDAI tokens. This update came straight from PeckShieldAlert's feed.
According to the statistics platform Dune Analytics, in the period since July 2023, over $85 million has been illicitly obtained from in excess of 21,100 victims.
In a related story, pump.fun, the memecoin launching platform, has alleged that a former staff member was responsible for an exploit leading to a $1.9 million loss.
In the wake of these events, Pink Drainer’s Telegram channel underwent a rebranding and is now called “Bonadifier.” Its new image features Bonad - a cognitively impaired individual who has used drainware - with the accompanying message, “never forget what he took from you.”
Pink Drainer's notorious cyber-theft toolkit contributed to a robbery of $53 million from over 9000 unsuspecting individuals in 2023. The security analyst who played a key role in Pink Drainer's operations defended their actions, claiming: "I don’t phish, I merely write program code. If you want to understand more about phishing attacks and avoiding online hacks, Cointelegraph, a premier news site for digital currency, fintech, and blockchain news, offers essential guides on cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence (AI).
This series of incidents reflects an emerging trend among leading figures in the world of cryptocurrency theft. In November 2023, Inferno Drainer ceased operations once they had facilitated the theft of $70 million. This was after Monkey Drainer, in March of the same year, shut down following their involvement in the stealing of $13 million.
While the dissolution of these cybercrime tools brings temporary relief for cryptocurrency users, the continued presence of others, such as Angel Drainer, underscores the ongoing threat. In February, Angel Drainer successfully hijacked over $400,000 from 128 digital wallets by luring users with a malicious Safe Vault contact.
Lastly, in the world of finance, Bybit's controversial unlisting of Notcoin and a Chinese-based firm witnessing an astonishing 1100% increase in profits following a crypto buy, are the latest stories creating a stir in the Asia Express magazine.
Published At
5/17/2024 1:43:38 PM
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