Cybercrime in the crypto sector has soared in the first half of 2024, with hackers stealing nearly $1.38 billion, almost doubling last year’s figures.

Cybercriminals have pilfered a staggering $1.38 billion from crypto investors in the first half of 2024, nearly doubling the $657 million stolen during the same period in 2023, according to data compiled by blockchain forensic firm TRM Labs.

Consistent with 2023 trends, a handful of major breaches have dominated this year’s thefts, with the top five incidents accounting for 70% of the total haul. The most significant attack to date occurred in May when DMM Bitcoin, a Japanese crypto exchange, was hacked, resulting in the loss of over 4,500 BTC valued at over $300 million at the time.

Total Hacks and Exploits in 2024

While the nature of the hack remains unclear, TRM Labs attributes “stolen private keys or address poisoning” to potential attack vectors. Private key and seed phrase compromises remain a top attack vector in 2024, alongside smart contract exploits and flash loan attacks, the analysts say.

The New York-headquartered firm notes that the first six months of 2024 have seen higher theft volumes each month than the corresponding months in 2023, “with the median hack 150% larger.” Despite this surge, thefts from hacks and exploits are a “third below the same period in 2022, which remains a record year.”

Phishing Scams on the Rise

Data from Scam Sniffer indicates that phishing scammers made over $300 million across EVM chains by targeting around 260,000 victims, marking a 6.44% increase compared to 2023. Researchers found that around $58 million worth of crypto was drained from 20 victims alone, with one victim losing $11 million, becoming the second-largest theft victim in crypto history.

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