A late-night distress call has exposed a sizeable cryptocurrency heist, according to 23pds, chief security officer at blockchain-forensics firm SlowMist.
An investor who ordered a “sealed, brand-new” hardware wallet advertised on TikTok awoke to find roughly ¥50 million—about US $6.9 million—missing from the device.
Investigators say the private key had been captured during the wallet’s initial setup, allowing thieves to drain the funds and launder them through the platform Huiwang before disappearing without a trace.
23pds now warns that many “discount” or “special-promotion” cold wallets hawked on social media are counterfeit units pre-programmed to leak keys.
He estimates nearly every listing that undercuts official pricing has been tampered with. The only safe course, he stresses, is to buy hardware wallets directly from trusted manufacturers or authorized resellers, since scammers frequently entice victims by offering devices for slightly less than the crypto purportedly stored inside.
