Famous US investor, television personality and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has found himself at the center of a crypto security incident that has sent shockwaves through the cryptocurrency community. On Friday, it was confirmed that one of Cuban’s MetaMask wallets had been compromised in what appeared to be a successful phishing attack, resulting in the loss of approximately $900,000 in altcoins, as on-chain data reveals.
$900 thousand stolen for altcoins
As Kriptokoin.com reported, the incident came to light when popular crypto researcher WazzCrypto expressed doubts about the security of Mark Cuban’s wallet on Friday evening. The wallet named “Mark Cuban 2” on Etherscan has not been active for about six months. However, in a sudden turn of events, all the funds inside the wallet were quickly moved out. Some of the notable transactions from this compromised wallet included a transfer of 2 million USDC and a deposit to Coinbase followed by the liquidation of all Ethereum holdings on the MATIC network.
Address on Matic was a Coinbase deposit address
End of an era
But address on ETH swapped all USDC for $ETH so it's a very different behaviour. still possible he was drained on ETH and saved his Matic bags pic.twitter.com/V0siq5cPMT
— Wazz (@WazzCrypto) September 16, 2023
Mark Cuban later shed light on the details of the incident, confirming the breach in an interview with DL News. He explained that he had not accessed his MetaMask wallet for several months, leading him to believe that attackers were monitoring his activities. Cuban also admitted that he fell victim to a phishing attack, a not uncommon occurrence in the crypto space, saying, “I’m pretty sure I downloaded a version of MetaMask that contained some malicious code.”
Relocating remaining investments
Referring to the Coinbase transfer, Cuban explained that he initiated the transaction as a protective measure to protect his remaining investments. Fortunately, it turned out that only one of the MetaMask accounts had been emptied and the other accounts remained untouched. Mark Cuban’s relationship with the cryptocurrency industry has been marked by both skepticism and enthusiasm over the years. He once stated that he preferred bananas over Bitcoin, citing Bitcoin’s perceived lack of utility. However, he later changed his mind and became an advocate of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH) and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). His growing interest in this area is also reflected in his significant crypto portfolio.
This incident is a stark reminder of the constant security threats that individuals and organizations face in the cryptocurrency world. Even high-profile figures like Mark Cuban are not immune to the ever-evolving tactics of malicious actors. This highlights the importance of remaining vigilant and implementing robust security measures when dealing with crypto assets in the crypto world.
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