Users of Telegram Bot Banana Gun Have Lost $1.4M to Hackers

Some users of Telegram bot Banana Gun have been hit by a major wallet compromise, resulting in the theft of about 563 ETH ($1.4 million)

The Banana Gun bot enables Telegram users to trade across major blockchains such as Ethereum, Solana, and Base.

According to reports, the incident directly affected less than 50 Telegram users, with the hacker withdrawing funds from these accounts. These compromised accounts belonged to a group of traders who used the bot to automate transactions and take advantage of new token launches.

563 ETH Stolen From Users’ Wallets

Community member yannickcrypto.eth shared insights on X (formerly Twitter), noting that the bot itself wasn’t directly hacked. The user pointed out that the low number of victims suggests the issue may not lie with the trading bot itself, revealing that the attackers stole around 563 ETH from 36 wallets linked to the bot’s operations.

Seems like there is already 36 victims with almost 563 #ETH stolen "so far" on mainnet. The last one was drained an hour ago, but there is more rumour that drains started on #SOL too.

I wouldnt say that @BananaGunBot itself got hacked, not enough victims. pic.twitter.com/0Ktz3TCcyu

— yannickcrypto.eth (@YannickCrypto) September 19, 2024

In response, the Banana Gun team shut down the bot immediately and launched a detailed investigation into the breach.

Through its official Telegram account, the team reassured users, stating,

“We have confirmed that our back-end was not breached. Our router and database have been thoroughly checked.”

Growing Hacks in the Crypto Space

This isn’t Banana Gun’s first challenge. Last September, the bot encountered issues during the launch of its Banana token, which was hampered by a contract bug, causing concern among users.

The broader crypto space has seen an increasing number of hacks, with hackers using various methods to exploit users. A recent report highlighted that some X accounts, including Yahoo News UK and Lenovo India, were compromised in a hack that promoted the memecoin HACKED.

Community Alert: A number of large accounts on X currently have their account compromised and are posting a meme coin scam. pic.twitter.com/8Bvaq59re5

— ZachXBT (@zachxbt) September 18, 2024

According to blockchain investigator ZachXBT, most scammers involved in the hack did not profit significantly, with top traders earning only around $1,000. The memecoin HACKED had a market cap of just $67,000. ZachXBT speculates that the compromised accounts likely gave permissions to the same app or website, leading to the hack.