By Iffa Jayyana 
Analysts at BitMEX Research have raised the alarm regarding a sophisticated new scam campaign targeting early Bitcoin holders, particularly those holding assets in wallets dating back to the foundational years of the cryptocurrency, such as 2011. The scheme represents an evolving vector in cryptocurrency fraud, blending on-chain data manipulation with traditional social engineering tactics designed to trick dormant account holders into surrendering control of their digital assets or sensitive personal information.
According to the intelligence gathered by BitMEX Research, the malicious actors behind this campaign are actively exploiting long-dormant addresses by injecting false transactions and misleading messages directly into the blockchain. These messages are delivered via OP_Return outputs, which are an optional field in Bitcoin transactions specifically designated for carrying arbitrary data alongside a transfer. By utilizing this mechanism, the scammers can broadcast custom text directly to anyone monitoring these historical addresses on block explorers or wallet interfaces.
In one of the most prominent documented cases uncovered by the research team, the perpetrators targeted the well-known "1Feex" wallet. This specific address holds approximately 80,000 Bitcoin, a massive fortune that is widely believed to have been associated with funds stolen during the historic collapse of the Mt. Gox cryptocurrency exchange in its early days. The attackers crafted a malicious transaction payload containing a message designed to drive traffic toward a fraudulent website that brazenly impersonates Salomon Brothers, the legendary Wall Street firm.
Upon visiting the fraudulent web portal, targeted individuals are confronted with a fabricated legal notice. The site asserts that the specific dormant wallet in question is legally classified as "lost or abandoned." To manufacture a veneer of legitimacy, the platform invites supposed owners to step forward and prove their rightful claim. The instructions on the site demand that victims either sign an on-chain message utilizing their private key—which would give the scammers direct access to drain the funds—or submit detailed personal documentation through a web-based contact form.
To create a profound sense of urgency and psychological pressure, the fraudulent notice includes a strict deadline, warning that if no response is received by October 5, the wallet will be permanently deemed legally abandoned and subject to forfeiture or administrative closure by the fake entity.
Fake Legal Claims and Impersonation Tactics
Investigating the infrastructure behind the fraudulent website, BitMEX Research warned that the portal shows absolutely no credible connection to the real Salomon Brothers or its historic leadership structure. While the site attempts to manufacture credibility by displaying a curated list of real individuals who genuinely worked at the prestigious firm during the 1980s, none of these former Wall Street professionals have any association whatsoever with this new and spurious entity.
The research platform noted that this deceptive approach bears striking similarities to earlier, controversial campaigns. Observers noted that the methodology is reminiscent of past maneuvers associated with polarizing figures such as Calvin Ayre, who previously funded various legal actions and disputes involving the exact same "1Feex" Bitcoin address. However, the current iteration leans heavily into digital deception rather than formal judicial proceedings.
Highlighting the disconnect between the fraudulent entity and reality, BitMEX Research stated in their public advisory that the links between the company and the website are entirely fake. They pointed out that while the page features an advisory board containing real people who worked at Salomon Brothers decades ago, these individuals appear to have no link to the new spurious entity orchestrating the current scam.
The cryptocurrency community has quickly weighed in on the development, with seasoned developers and security researchers analyzing the on-chain footprints. Community members have pointed out a glaring logical flaw in the scammers’ premise: a legitimate wallet owner who wanted to prove that their address was active and under their control could simply move a minuscule, negligible amount of Bitcoin to a new address rather than risking their entire balance or exposing sensitive private keys.
This glaring operational inefficiency has led many industry observers to suspect that the campaign is part of a broader social engineering scam effort. Instead of successfully capturing wallets through technical exploits, the primary objective appears to be harvesting sensitive information, identity documents, and credentials under a thinly veiled legal pretext.
Security experts at BitMEX have strongly emphasized that users, asset holders, and observers should completely ignore the fraudulent website, refuse to interact with its contact forms, and avoid providing any personal details or cryptographic signatures.
The emergence of these inventive scams underscores the rapidly growing complexity and psychological sophistication of crypto-related fraud in the modern digital asset ecosystem. Malicious actors are increasingly turning to hybrid attacks that combine blockchain-level data injection with social engineering, coercion, and corporate impersonation.
This campaign arrives amid a broader landscape of escalating financial crime within the sector. In the first half of 2025 alone, hackers and malicious syndicates stole over $2.1 billion across 75 separate security incidents worldwide, representing a notable 10% rise compared to the figures recorded during the exact same period in the previous year, highlighting the persistent threats facing both institutional and individual market participants.
Asro 
Layla Zulfa 
Muslim