Tampered Wallet From Douyin Drains User’s $6.9 Million Crypto

[dkbit98]

I saw this article yesterday but I still can't find exact name or any images of this fake hardware wallet.
Even with other more reliable hardware wallets and microchip manufacturers that are closed source we can't be sure if they are hiding some sleeping backdoor access inside.
Not long ago someone created fake Trezor wallet for Russian market that looks identical from the outside, but hardware was maliciously modified.   

[DYING_S0UL]

Man this is just dumb way to loss literally everything. What a shame! Every crypto users should at least know the basics things like these things works! Buying a wallet in collectibles? Nah man! Then I rather not buy at all. Tbh, this whole story doesn't seemed realistic to me, I hope it isn't real. $6.9 mil is a heck lot of a money.. I would literally cry over $100  , imagine someone losing 6.9 mil.

Imagine that you have so much value in cryptocurrencies and then instead of buying or making an air-gapped wallet, you go looking for suspicious devices online and buy one just because it looks visually appealing. If there is any truth in this story, I wonder how this person managed to get so rich - but it seems to me that in this case, a saying that says something like "Easy come, easy go" would fit well.

This reminds me of a story where someone supposedly found the private key (seedphrase) to a wallet holding a hefty amount of BTC, but ended up sending the funds to the wrong address because the address was missing the last character, only because he was being careless. What a reckless way to become rich and again poor on the same instant. Although, I'm not sure whether this story was real or not but I believe I have seen it somewhere in this forum.

[btcltcdigger]

Douyin is the Chinese version of Tiktok, which means the person bought the cold wallet through the platform. I do not know if it is a hardware wallet but I guess it can be a collectible. I do not know the reason some people are just buying a wallet in collectibles which has been a means scammers used in the past to scam people, or maybe it is a cheap hardware wallet.

What I know about it is that the wallet is very cheap, the private keys are known to the people that sold it at some point. The victim likely see it cheap and bought it and transferred $6.9 million worth of coins there. I do not know the coins the that were lost.

https://www.bitdegree.org/crypto/news/tampered-wallet-from-douyin-drains-users-6-9-million-crypto

From my experience , i wouldn't buy anything being advertised on platforms like TikTok. Even if the add say "we will scam you" and you buy it, they will find a way to scam you again.
In theory, these social media platforms are a breeding ground of scams, exploits and bad people luring on gullible customers

[BitGoba]

You can never have a 100% guarantee that a device hasn’t been compromised, especially if you’re buying it as a finished product.Companies that produce hardware wallets could theoretically leave backdoors or be forced by governments to do so.

That’s why many advanced users prefer DIY (do-it-yourself) solutions  because they have full control over both the hardware and software.
There are several DIY (do-it-yourself) solutions for building your own Bitcoin hardware wallet, including SeedSigner, Specter DIY, Krux,etc


Practically, you just buy the parts and assemble your own wallet  you don't have to trust anyone.Here are a few step-by-step video tutorials if anyone's interested.



SeedSigner complete tutorial how to build it step by step.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBd8ZhsXnrA

Specter DIY Bitcoin Hardware Wallet

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOR9bGK57ZA

BUILD Your Own Bitcoin Hardware Security Device NOW: KRUX

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiwmpO1k2zA

[Rustam Meraj]

Wallet was very cheap which was warning sign because sellers already knew its private keys allowing them to steal $6.9 million worth of coins. This kind of scam mostly uses low prices or disguises products as collectibles to trick people into buying compromised wallets. This incident shows that if crypto wallet deal seems too good so it is probably scam and it is always best to buy real hardware wallets only from trusted sellers.

[Taskford]

Wallet was very cheap which was warning sign because sellers already knew its private keys allowing them to steal $6.9 million worth of coins. This kind of scam mostly uses low prices or disguises products as collectibles to trick people into buying compromised wallets. This incident shows that if crypto wallet deal seems too good so it is probably scam and it is always best to buy real hardware wallets only from trusted sellers.

To bad for the buyer to think about saving some bucks and risk his funds from that situation.

If  I am the one have that amount of money I will make sure to use the most safest wallet which came from legit sources.

But guess the affected person who lose millions from this incident teach us a lesson that we should not buy anything cheap wallets online since it can possibly compromise us. Always good decision to buy from legit manufacturers or store and check if the product is not been opened to make sure that we are safe.

[suzanne5223]

What I know about it is that the wallet is very cheap, the private keys are known to the people that sold it at some point. The victim likely see it cheap and bought it and transferred $6.9 million worth of coins there. I do not know the coins the that were lost.

https://www.bitdegree.org/crypto/news/tampered-wallet-from-douyin-drains-users-6-9-million-crypto

I clearly don’t get it… why would someone be so clueless to buy a hardware wallet cheaply, only to transfer coins of over $6m into it for safe keep or whatever reason. Worst of all, you are buying from a source where the private key has already been exposed to them. It doesn’t make sense at all!
Having that amount should mean, you know what your security of it should be and you don’t get to go cheap on it, you don’t leave any room for vulnerability and just have to utilize best means to save them Bitcoins.

While go cheap with security on such an expensive portfolio!

I won't say clueless if i were because we're not there when it all started, and i also learn that people are quick to judge when things happen because they are not in the shoes of the victim.

You may not notice that, the most common new scamming method used in the cryptocurrency space now is trust, and that's why we see KOL, with the inclusion of influencer people scamming their community after they build a trust relationship with them. 
I believe the exact thing is what we see happening to the crypto enthusiasts that bought the wallet in the subject, and I have a reason to believe they didnt know the wallet private keys is know by the wallet creator because no one in his or right sense will make the decision that will lead to loosing millions in crypto just like that.

[Coyster]

This incident shows that if crypto wallet deal seems too good so it is probably scam and it is always best to buy real hardware wallets only from trusted sellers.

Sometimes hardware wallet manufacturers do offer discounts on some of their products, so if you see discounts on their official website, it is real and it might actually be a good time to get your device for a few dollars less. For example, around two months ago or so, Coldcard were offering a 20% discount on all of their products for a short while, which was a good time for people to buy it and save some money.