A large crypto assets holder recently experienced a shocking loss of assets. His 8.43 million USDT did not get stolen, but rather disappeared due to a seemingly harmless operation. This investor had always believed that his assets were absolutely safe because he used a Ledger Cold Wallet and strictly followed all security recommendations: the Private Key was never connected to the internet, the mnemonic phrase was only saved in paper form, and he never took screenshots or shared it.

However, it turns out that even the most cautious users can fall into carefully designed traps. By analyzing on-chain operation records, the truth emerges: the problem lies in a seemingly harmless authorization operation.

To conveniently view his assets, this investor installed a browser extension wallet that supports Cold Wallet synchronization. The plugin has a simple interface that can display coins and prices, and it has received numerous community recommendations. The investor believes that simply "viewing" his assets should carry no risk. However, he is unaware that in the process of connecting the plugin, he actually signed a "SetApprovalForAll" standard contract, granting transfer permissions for all his assets to a collective contract deployed by a hacker.

This authorization operation is like signing a blank check. Three days later, when the Cold Wallet received 8.43 million USDT, the hacker immediately invoked the contract and withdrew the entire balance in one go. Throughout the process, the user's phone did not receive any notifications, and the Wallet records only showed a "call event."

This case reveals a key issue: many users overly trust the "absolute security" of Cold Wallets. However, hackers do not need to use brute force; they only need to exploit users' trust, gradually guiding victims into traps through seemingly safe steps.

Currently, some of the stolen assets have been frozen on the exchange. This incident reminds us once again that in the world of crypto assets, even when using the most secure tools, we must remain highly vigilant, especially regarding any operations that require authorization.

For crypto asset holders, this lesson is profound: do not blindly trust any third-party applications, even if they seem very reliable. When performing any authorization operations, one should carefully read and understand the contract content. At the same time, regularly checking and revoking unnecessary authorizations is also an important step in protecting assets.

As the cryptocurrency ecosystem continues to evolve, user education and security awareness have become increasingly important. Only by finding a balance between technological security and user caution can we truly ensure the safety of digital assets.