Update (Aug. 17, 2023 - 7:20 AM UTC): This article has been updated to add new responses from CertiK.
Potential evidence linking an anonymous scammer to a Canadian group was highlighted by blockchain security firm CertiK in a report sent to Cointelegraph; however, the company did not release the name or identity of the perpetrator(s).
On Aug. 16, CertiK released its findings from its investigation of a pseudonymous crypto scammer known as “Faint.” According to CertiK, the alleged scammer has been active since 2022, and the community has lost at least $1 million from their actions.
The security firm identified several Ethereum Name Service (ENS) domains linked to Faint, including faintxbt.eth, comefindme.eth, thanksfortheseed.eth, onchainkitten.eth and hzontop.eth.
CertiK also highlighted that there have been links that established Faint’s connection to another alleged scammer known as “Soup.” On July 17, on-chain researcher ZachXBT published an investigation on Soup and said that the hacker was responsible for stealing millions in assets after attacking Discord servers by pretending to be employees of the media platform.
1/ An investigation into the Canadian phishing scammer known as Soup (Dan) who has helped steal millions in assets by attacking the Discord servers of projects like @Orbiter_Finance @PikaProtocol pic.twitter.com/EtD5FMiG4R
— ZachXBT (@zachxbt) July 17, 2023
According to CertiK, the anonymous scammer often taunted projects after compromising their Discord servers. After a Discord hack in 2022, Faint posted a picture displaying a watch and showing the announcement of the nonfungible token (NFT) card game Cross The Ages that their Discord was compromised.
CertiK believes that the watch shown by Faint in the post in 2022 is similar to a watch that surfaced on ZachXBT’s investigation of a scammer known as “Madman.” CertiK believes that the watch is a possible match to the one shown by Faint in the previous post.
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Despite the findings, the blockchain security firm did not release the actual names or identities of the hackers. However, the company claims that they have uncovered this information and will send it to law enforcement. Hugh Brooks, CertiK's director of security operations, told Cointelegraph in a statement that they are hoping that the information will help lead to an investigation. Brooks said:
"While we have chosen to obfuscate the social media handle linked to the watch, we have determined the real name behind this account. This information will be made available to relevant law enforcement agencies on request, and we hope that it will form the basis for an official investigation."
The company also said that Faint still continues to be a threat to the community and encouraged community members to protect themselves against potential wallet drainer attempts. "These scammers won’t stop their activities and will continue to develop new methods to try and steal users' funds. Therefore it is in the best interest of users to keep up to date with security practices," Brooks said.
The CertiK executive recommended applications such as Wallet Guard, Pocket Universe and RevokeCash which can alert users to connections with wallet drainers and help them revoke permissions that were granted by mistake. The company noted that users can also take precautions by verifying addresses and making sure that any approvals they sign are not from recognized phishing addresses.
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