The partner of the venture cryptocurrency fund Hypersphere, Mehdi Farouk, became a victim of a sophisticated phishing attack, resulting in the loss of a significant portion of his digital assets. The attackers used a compromised account of an acquaintance on the messaging app Telegram to lure the investor into a fake Zoom video meeting and gain access to his device.
This is reported by Бізнес • Медіа
Details of the Phishing Scheme
The attack began with a message on Telegram from someone who introduced themselves as Alex Lin—a real acquaintance of Farouk. After exchanging links to the Calendly service, the interlocutor suggested moving the conversation to Zoom Business, citing the investor’s participation in the fund. During the conference itself, there was no sound, and a request appeared in the chat to update the Zoom application. After installing the proposed file, Farouk’s device was hacked, and he instantly lost control of six cryptocurrency wallets, along with years of savings.
“I was told to update Zoom to fix the sound issue. And this is what happened when I updated the application. Six wallets were drained. […] My laptop is completely compromised. Years of savings—gone in minutes,” the entrepreneur admitted.
Suspicions Regarding the Origin of the Attack and Consequences
During the attack, the perpetrator maintained active correspondence on Telegram, creating the illusion of normal communication. It later became known that the real account of Alex Lin had been hacked, and the attack may have been organized by hackers from North Korea. Mehdi Farouk, who previously held a position at Animoca Brands and joined Hypersphere in 2025, did not disclose the exact amount of the losses but emphasized that he was left without any of his funds.
Phishing attacks targeting representatives of the crypto industry are on the rise. Curve Finance founder Mikhail Yegorov notes that decentralized projects are increasingly becoming targets of coordinated attacks carried out by hired hackers. According to him, the attackers operate cautiously and in an organized manner. It is worth recalling that in May 2025, total losses from hacking attacks in the crypto sphere reached approximately $244 million.