User Loses $6.5 Million Due to Wallet Purchased via Chinese TikTok

A user lost $6.5 million after purchasing a hardware wallet through the Chinese app Douyin. The device was found to be compromised, according to experts from SlowMist.

? Last night, We received an emergency report: a user lost $6.5M worth of crypto from a cold wallet.

The wallet was bought via Douyin (TikTok China), but the private key was compromised at creation — and funds were drained within hours.

⚠️ Cold wallet ≠ Safe

Avoid “Factory… https://t.co/YDV4EgxD3a

— SlowMist (@SlowMist_Team) June 14, 2025

According to their data, the private key was compromised during the wallet’s creation. The perpetrators withdrew the funds within hours after the user transferred assets to it.

A user on X, known as Hella and a former Bitmain employee, revealed that the victim was a close friend.

近 5000万一夜蒸发！只因在抖音买了个“冷钱包”？血的教训！?

一个深夜电话，让我毛骨悚然！?关系很铁的朋友，刚经历了人生至暗时刻—— 他持有的价值近 5000万人民币的加密货币，被盗一空！…

— Hella | 海拉｜神奇女侠? (@hella1413) June 14, 2025

She described the wallet as a “carefully crafted hot trap.” The stolen assets were laundered through Huiwang, a Cambodian conglomerate that operates a network of illegal businesses, including the payment platform Huione Pay and the crypto exchange Huione Crypto.

SlowMist experts warned that wallets sold as “factory sealed” or at significant discounts are often already compromised. The low price is a tactic to lure victims.

Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, features an integrated marketplace where third-party sellers can offer their products.

SlowMist’s Chief Information Security Officer, known as 23pds, cautioned against “putting your entire fortune into a wallet that’s a couple of hundred dollars cheaper.” He stated that this is “not saving money, but throwing your life away.”

SlowMist specialists managed to trace the stolen funds. However, according to Hella, “there is almost no hope of recovering them.”

“When buying a hardware wallet, one must choose a reliable channel. Most of those online are fakes,” concluded Hella.

In April, Kaspersky Lab warned about counterfeit models of popular Android smartphones appearing in unofficial online stores.