A Chinese trader fell victim to a sophisticated hacking scam involving a promotional Google Chrome plugin called Aggr, resulting in the loss of $1 million from their Binance account. The plugin, marketed as a promotional tool, was discovered to steal cookies from users, which hackers then utilized to circumvent password and two-factor authentication (2FA) measures, gaining unauthorized access to the victim’s account. Despite timely complaints from the trader, Binance allegedly failed to take necessary security measures to prevent abnormal trading activity and stop the fraudulent transactions initiated by the hacker.
The trader, known as CryptoNakamao on X, recounted the ordeal of discovering unauthorized trades on their Binance account on May 24. By the time they sought assistance from Binance, the hacker had already withdrawn all funds, leaving the trader devastated. The hacker’s modus operandi involved exploiting the stolen cookies to hijack active user sessions and execute leveraged trades, manipulating the price of low liquidity pairs to profit from cross-trading activities.
The trader’s investigation revealed that Binance was aware of the fraudulent Chrome plugin and had been conducting an internal investigation. However, despite being aware of the hacker’s activities and the nature of the scam, Binance allegedly failed to inform traders or take appropriate actions to prevent the fraud. The trader criticized Binance for its inadequate security measures and failure to freeze the funds of the hacker’s account on time, resulting in substantial losses for affected users. As a consequence, the incident underscores the importance of robust cybersecurity measures and proactive actions by cryptocurrency exchanges to safeguard user assets from such sophisticated hacking schemes.
