Deepfake AI Scammers Steal $2 Million From OKX User

A sophisticated deepfake scam targeted an OKX user after their personal information was compromised in a Telegram data breach. The victim reported on June 3 that the attack had resulted in the theft of millions worth of crypto assets.

OKX User Claims Hacker Accessed Personal Information Via Telegram

According to local media outlet WuBlockchain, Lai Japanese Fang Chang detailed that the scammers purchased his personal information from a Telegram breach to access his email through the “forgotten password” feature.

Posing as Chang, the scammers used a deepfake video to change his security settings, including his email ID and Google authenticator settings. Within 24 hours, Chang’s OKX account lost over $2 million in crypto assets.

An OKX user disclosed today that hackers purchased his personal information and used AI to create fake videos. Hackers used these to change the victim's OKX passwords and even 2FA. More than $2 million US were stolen. Be wary of Deepfakes and personal data leaks.…

— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) June 3, 2024

OKX confirmed the incident and promised to help the victim recover the asset by collaborating with law enforcement.

Deepfake AI scams indicate the growing threat of AI in the crypto sector.

Deepfake technology, which can mimic a person’s voice, face, and gestures, has been increasingly used in cyber attacks. According to several reports, these AI-generated deepfakes can deliver disinformation and fraudulent messages, making them difficult to detect and stop.

This recent OKX user’s account breach is part of a broader trend of AI-related fraud.

On February 6, 2024, a report by Fortune highlighted the emergence of OnlyFake, a site capable of producing highly realistic fake IDs that can deceive know-your-customer (KYC) processes at crypto exchanges like OKX. The report details the statement of the website owner, which entails that the generated forgeries could deceive even popular payment platforms like PayPal and other platforms that require users to upload an ID to sign up.

These developments indicate the new wave of AI-driven scams, which call for serious concern in the crypto industry.

OKX User Reports Security Challenges

OKX exchange continues to struggle with reputation recovery and security challenges as more users report security incidents on the platform.

Amidst the latest deepfake AI scam, an X user recalled an earlier attack on an OKX wallet, where the victim lost 50,000 TRC-20 USDT.

According to the detailed post, the scammers exploited a page hijacking technique to replace the OKX wallet’s “replenish GAS” function with “update Tron account owner permissions.”

前不久，我的一位朋友在使用OKX钱包时遭遇页面劫持被盗5万USDT（波场TRC20）。

据我这位朋友找的安全从业人士分析，黑客是通过页面劫持将他用的OKX钱包的“补充GAS”替换成“更新波场账户所有者权限”，在用户界面无感知的情况下骗取授权，进而控制受害者的波场账户实现盗币。… pic.twitter.com/kXauBBBd0T

— NingNing (🌿,👻) (@0xNing0x) June 4, 2024

This allowed the hacker to obtain authorization to control the victim’s Tron account and steal coins.

In a separate event on March 27, OKX API failure caused account balance confusion. Some user’s account balances showed zero, while others displayed balance amounts in the tens of millions of dollars. Many traders in Singapore, the United States, and Japan were left with incorrect account balances.

These incidents were preceded by the OKX DEX exploit that resulted in some wallets authorized to the platform losing about $400,000. It was revealed that the OKX DEX proxy admin owner’s private key was allegedly leaked, allowing hackers to take over the protocol and change its functionality.