700 billion Korean Won worth of Bitcoin stolen during official seizure, phishing attacks sound the alarm again

2026-01-23 04:10:11

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【BlockBeats】A recent case has sparked heated discussion in the crypto community—Gwangju District Prosecutor’s Office in South Korea discovered that approximately 70 billion KRW (equivalent to $47.7 million) worth of Bitcoin seized were stolen.

Details of this incident are noteworthy. According to reports, these crypto assets were originally seized by judicial authorities but were stolen by hackers through a carefully crafted phishing attack after a staff member visited a scam website. Ironically, officials have remained silent on the exact amount of loss and the timing of the Bitcoin seizure, only stating that they are “tracking the status and whereabouts of the seized items.”

This is not an isolated incident. In the same week, South Korean customs authorities dismantled a large-scale crypto money laundering network. These consecutive security incidents reveal a harsh reality—that even official agencies are not fully immune to phishing attacks and internal security vulnerabilities.

The lesson for ordinary investors is clear: security is not optional. Whether it’s personal wallets or trading platforms, vigilance against phishing links is essential. A single careless click can cause assets to vanish instantly. This also underscores the importance of adopting advanced security measures such as hardware wallets and multi-signature setups.

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rekt_but_resilient

· 3h ago

Even the officials can be phished, how can we retail investors survive? That's hilarious.

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BearHugger

· 10h ago

Even the official channels can be phished, what hope do we retail investors have? If the prosecutor's office can't protect wallets, it means no one can be 100% secure. 47.7 million USD just gone like that, it's truly unbelievable. Things aren't looking good over in Korea, two security incidents in a week. This is the biggest FUD, isn't it? It's really ironic that even official institutions need to play catch-up.

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BlockchainNewbie

· 10h ago

Officially, even phishing can't be prevented, what are we small retail investors still thinking... This is outrageous --- Even the prosecutor's office has been exploited, I really can't hold on anymore --- I just want to know who is taking the blame for this 47.7 million? It can't just remain silent like this --- Korean authorities: We are tracking... Translation: None --- No one can escape phishing, not even the most authoritative institutions --- This round, the officials have really embarrassed themselves, 70 billion just gone like that?

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GateUser-cff9c776

· 11h ago

Even the official was phished, which perfectly illustrates the necessity of decentralization... --- $47 million is gone just like that. Can Bitcoin's floor price still hold steady? --- Honestly, from the supply and demand curve, this actually demonstrates the value of self-custody. Have you realized it? --- The Korean authorities' security capabilities are probably even worse than the cold wallet I casually set up. LOL --- This is perhaps another side of the Web3 decentralization spirit—there's no absolute safe haven, only eternal human vulnerabilities. --- $47 million in "tracking"... Wait, isn't this Schrödinger's bull market?

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TradFiRefugee

· 11h ago

Official institutions have all been phished, how can we retail investors survive... Even prosecutors can't prevent it, indicating that phishing is truly everywhere. $47 million just disappeared like that, and the authorities are still "tracking" it. Their attitude is a bit dismissive. The most outrageous thing is remaining silent, really thinking we're all fools. Frequent collapses on the Korean side, security issues one after another, it's a bit heartbreaking. They can't even handle basic tasks like checking phishing emails, how do they expect to manage crypto assets? Government agencies have failed, which further proves that managing your private keys is the real key.

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