A security expert known on X as 23pds has warned OpenSea users whose emails have been published to watch out for phishing attacks.
In an X post on January 13, the security analyst who is a part of the security firm, SlowMist said criminals are likely to use the published emails of those affected in a 2022 attack on OpenSea to launch phishing attacks.
What happened
Hackers attacked the mail service provider of the largest NFT marketplace, OpenSea in 2022, leading to the leakage of many users’ data, including their emails.
Since then, the email addresses of those affected have been released to the public and are all now public for everyone to see. According to 23pds,
“The amount of leaked data reached 7 million, including a large number of email information of overseas cryptocurrency practitioners, including many well-known people, companies and key opinion leaders (KOLs) in the industry, which may pose further threats to the privacy and asset security of the cryptocurrency industry in the future.”
Apparently, Binance co-founder and former CEO Changpeng ‘CZ’ Zhao was one of the victims, and his email address has been made public as well.
With such sensitive information available to the public, it is likely that attackers can take advantage to send phishing emails which can lead to stealing of crypto, NFTs, and other sensitive information from unsuspecting victims.
Increasing risks
Phishing is a common way of stealing data and crypto or even fiat money from victims, and is on the increase across the board.
In 2024, the cases of phishing increased by 34% from 2023, making it one of the years with the highest number of incidents.
With the ongoing crypto bull market, extra care must be taken to ensure that criminals don’t access information such as emails to prevent phishing attacks which mostly target crypto newbies.
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