Exploits, hacks and scams stole almost $1B in 2023: Report

Malicious actors targeting the crypto space have taken more than $45 million in digital assets from their victims in the month of August alone and a total of $997 million year-to-date (YTD), according to a report shared by the blockchain security firm CertiK. 

Within the report, CertiK highlighted that exit scams took around $26 million, flash loan attacks took around $6.4 million and exploits took $13.5 million from their victims in August 2023. The cybersecurity firm confirmed that the total losses amounted to over $45 million.

CertiK pointed out that some of the major incidents that contributed to the amount lost include the Zunami Protocol attack which led to $2.2 million in losses, the Exactly Protocol exploit which took $7.3 million and the PEPE coin withdrawal incident which led to $13.2 million in losses.

According to CertiK, more than $997 million were lost to exploits, hacks and scams in 2023 so far. This includes around $261 million lost to flash loan attacks, over $137 million lost to exit scams and more than $596 million lost to exploits.

Related: CertiK drops findings on alleged scammer who stole $1M in crypto

While the losses in August are still high, the amount is significantly lower compared to the losses incurred in the previous month. In July 2023, around $486 million in total losses were recorded by Web3 data outlet De.Fi, with the Multichain exploit alone contributing around $231 million to the total amount lost.

With various factors at play, Multichain officially announced the halting of its operations on July 14. The team cited the lack of funding for operations and the lack of alternative sources of information as the reasons for its shutdown. According to the team, they were unable to contact their CEO since he was taken into custody by Chinese authorities.

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