Artela Co-Founder Asset Security Self-Help Guide: How to Effectively Prevent and Recover Stolen Assets?
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Artela Co-Founder Asset Security Self-Help Guide: How to Effectively Prevent and Recover Stolen Assets?
After a theft occurs, be sure to seek help from a security company immediately to assist in tracking the assets.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsAuthor: KevinY, Co-Founder of Artela
After recovering the stolen assets, I’ve been constantly approached by friends asking for advice these past few days. It was my first time experiencing blockchain security issues so personally, and I’d like to summarize some of my lessons learned to share with everyone:
1. Over a month ago, hacker A impersonated an investor from a Silicon Valley fund and reached out through a mutual friend, expressing interest in discussing investment opportunities. Since their Telegram account was verified, I didn’t suspect anything. After scheduling via my Calendly link, they claimed at the last minute they couldn't access the meeting link and instead sent me one that appeared to belong to their fund’s domain. Without much thought, I clicked it—and ran a phishing link.
2. Immediately after running it, I realized something was wrong. I disconnected my computer from the internet, changed critical passwords, moved assets, and wiped sensitive data. Because I managed many friends’ farming accounts—holding funds and private keys on my machine—I had over 40 wallets (MetaMask, Phantom, Keplr) tied to my computer. Exporting all those accounts took over ten hours and left me completely drained.
At this point, I noticed a few thousand USDT sitting in Rage Trade, but the protocol no longer allowed withdrawals. I turned to Discord for customer support. By then, I’d been working nonstop for a day and wasn’t thinking clearly—so I fell victim again, giving away a private key to hacker B who posed as official support.
3. Upon discovering the theft, I immediately contacted security firms, which helped freeze the funds shortly after they entered MEXC. However, exchanges require formal freezing notices from law enforcement to extend the hold. Being based in the U.S., I pursued coordination with authorities on both sides of China and the U.S., successfully obtaining legal documents at two crucial junctures—the 48-hour mark and the 14-day deadline. The countless challenges in coordinating with law enforcement are too long to detail here; feel free to DM if you need specific insights.
4. Based on documentation provided by police, MEXC disclosed the email associated with the receiving account. Hoping to intimidate them, I sent a threatening email. The recipient replied saying he wasn’t the hacker, but rather an operator of a non-custodial wallet service.
Apparently, the hacker had tried using his product to convert ETH into XMR, but due to insufficient liquidity reserves in the wallet, they manually deposited my ETH into MEXC to complete the swap—leading to immediate freezing of the funds. After further communications (omitting another 100,000 words worth), involving even a third country's police force, the wallet operator eventually agreed to return the assets. The matter was resolved after about half a month.
Some key takeaways:I believe luck played a major role in my recovery. Prevention is absolutely critical—once assets are lost, recovering them is nearly impossible. Here are my two hard-earned lessons:
1. Always separate your work computer from your asset management computer. I used to follow this strictly, but last year, while traveling globally, managing two devices became inconvenient, so I cut corners and abandoned the practice.
2. Never operate under fatigue. Under normal conditions, I would never have fallen for hacker B’s phishing attempt—but that single lapse, caused by exhaustion, was enough to be fatal.
3. Once theft occurs, contact cybersecurity professionals immediately to trace the assets. Freeze funds as soon as they enter centralized exchanges. If the chain is not interrupted at this stage, recovery becomes exponentially harder. I’m deeply grateful to @GoPlusSecurity and @SlowMist_Team.
4. Recovering and freezing assets requires cooperation from law enforcement—which turns out to be the most difficult and unpredictable part of the process. Police often lack basic understanding of crypto, and such cases frequently fail to identify a clear “defendant.” This involves extensive communication and coordination efforts.
5. Exhaust every possible avenue to locate and contact the other party. Frankly speaking, after a breach, it comes down to sheer luck. Don’t give up on any possibility—but stay vigilant against secondary attacks during the recovery process. Wishing everyone safety and smooth sailing ahead.
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