According to blockchain data, an individual who orchestrated an address poisoning attack and managed to deceive users into sending them 1,155 Wrapped Bitcoin (wBTC), valued at $68 million at the time, has now returned almost all of the pilfered funds. The attacker chose to exchange the funds for Ethereum during their possession, and due to the subsequent decline in Ethereum's price, the returned amount of approximately 22,960 Ethereum is valued at $65.7 million, accounting for over 96% of the original stolen funds.
On May 10 at 8:47 AM UTC, a significant number of wallets initiated the process of sending Ethereum to the victim's address. The initial transfer amounted to 29.999 ETH, with subsequent transactions originating from multiple accounts over the following day, each worth between 29 and 67 ETH. This series of transactions ultimately resulted in the wallet balance exceeding 29,000 ETH.
The return of the stolen funds occurred following a series of negotiations between the victim and the attacker. Initially, the victim had agreed to allow the attacker to retain 10% of the funds as a bounty. However, at the time of reporting, the attackers have returned more than 90% of the stolen funds.
A report from Match Systems, a cybersecurity agency, revealed that they had uncovered valuable information that bolstered the victims' position during negotiations. With Match Systems and the Cryptex cryptocurrency exchange participating in the negotiations, the hacker ultimately returned the entire amount of 22,960 ETH to the victim, who presently harbors no grievances against the attacker.
Address poisoning attacks, such as this one, can result in substantial losses for cryptocurrency users. Security experts advise users to mitigate such risks by meticulously verifying the receiving address before executing any transaction.
