- Manta Network’s co-founder, Kenny Li, narrowly avoided a Zoom phishing scam on April 17.
- Jake Gallen suffered a loss of over $100K in assets after falling victim to a similar Zoom phishing attack on April 11.
- Li advises crypto leaders to avoid unexpected downloads or software updates during video calls to protect against such attacks.
Crypto industry insiders are increasingly becoming the target of sophisticated cyber scams, including phishing scam, with the latest troubling incident involving Manta Network’s co-founder, Kenny Li. Recently, Li experienced a highly convincing attempt to trick him during a Zoom call.
On April 17, Li detailed the incident through an X post, revealing how attackers used authentic video footage of a familiar individual to trap him. The meeting looked genuine, but there was no audio and soon a prompt appeared, pushing him to download a suspicious script
I could see their legit faces. Everything looked very real. But I couldn’t hear them. It said my Zoom needs an update. But it asked me to download a script file. I immediately left,” Li shared.
After exiting the meeting, Li contacted the impersonator through Telegram and requested a call for verification. The person did not respond and instead deleted all previous messages and blocked him. Li later confirmed that the real person whose face appeared in the meeting had been hacked by the Lazarus Group, a known cybercrime organization.
Zoom Phishing Scam Hits Crypto Leaders
This Zoom phishing tactic doesn’t target only Li. On April 11, Jake Gallen, CEO of Emblem Vault and a well-known podcaster and NFT collector, reported that he lost over $100,000 in digital assets, including Bitcoin and Ether, due to a similar phishing scam carried out through a Zoom meeting.
Gallen said his computer was completely compromised after he joined a video call and followed a link to download Zoom, even though it was already installed on his system.
Unfortunately, this led to $100k+ in purchased digital assets being lost,” he said.
Additionally, another community member from ContributionDAO had a similar run-in. The attackers insisted on downloading a specific version of Zoom, despite the victim already having the app installed. When the victim suggested switching to Google Meet for safety, the scammers refused outright.
Other prominent crypto leaders, such as Pixelmon CEO Giulio Xiloyannis and Devdock AI founder Melbin Thomas, among others, also reported recent attempted hacks with the same Zoom strategy.
Beware Sudden Downloads or Updates
Li warns that crypto leaders, regularly flooded with meetings and messages, could easily fall victim to these attacks. “These are hacks that play to your emotional connection and potentially mental fatigue,” he explained. He urged caution especially about downloading any sudden update or unknown file sent unexpectedly.
The biggest red flag will always be a downloadable. Whether it’s in the form of an update, an attachment, app, or anything else, if you need to download something in order to continue something with the person on the other side, don’t do it,” Li strongly advised.
As attackers continue refining methods to deceive crypto entrepreneurs, heightened awareness and caution remain the most effective defenses against these persistent cyber threats.
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