By Sagoh 
Analysts at BitMEX Research have issued a critical security alert regarding a sophisticated and emerging scam campaign specifically targeting early Bitcoin holders, with a primary focus on dormant wallets dating back to the foundational era of cryptocurrency in 2011.
According to the blockchain intelligence and research firm, the malicious campaign relies on exploiting long-inactive addresses by injecting false transactions and deceptive, coercive messages directly onto the blockchain. Attackers are utilizing the OP_Return outputs feature—an optional field within Bitcoin transactions that permits users to append a small amount of arbitrary data to a ledger entry—to broadcast their fraudulent messaging to historical blockchain addresses that have seen little to no outward movement for over a decade.
High-Profile Targets and Elaborate Deceptions
In one prominently documented instance of this malicious activity, the perpetrators set their sights on the well-known "1Feex" wallet. This specific address holds approximately 80,000 Bitcoin, a massive fortune that is widely believed by blockchain sleuths and security researchers to have been compromised and stolen during the infamous 2011 security breach of the early cryptocurrency exchange Mt. Gox.
Rather than attempting a direct technological exploit of the private keys—which remains mathematically unfeasible—the attackers crafted a complex social engineering vector. They embedded a message within the blockchain transaction history that directs targeted individuals and curious onlookers to a sophisticated fraudulent website. This replica site deliberately impersonates Salomon Brothers, a legendary and defunct Wall Street investment banking firm, lending a false air of traditional financial authority and legitimacy to the scheme.
Upon visiting the fraudulent portal, victims are greeted by a fabricated legal notice asserting that the targeted cryptocurrency wallet is classified as "lost or abandoned." The site then pivots to a call-to-action, inviting the supposed rightful owners of the long-dormant funds to step forward, verify their identity, and legally prove their claim to the multi-million-dollar stash. To accomplish this, the portal instructs users to either sign an on-chain message using their private cryptographic key or submit extensive personal documentation through an embedded web-based contact form.
To create an acute sense of psychological urgency, the notice imposes a strict deadline, warning that if no valid ownership claim or response is received by October 5, the wallet will be officially and legally deemed abandoned under purported regulatory statutes, paving the way for the scammers to escalate their efforts or pressure victims further.
Unraveling the Fake Legal Claims
In their detailed investigation, BitMEX Research quickly exposed the hollow foundations of the web platform, confirming that the digital facade bears zero credible connection to the real Salomon Brothers or its historic leadership structure. While the fraudulent website attempts to bolster its credibility by publicly displaying a roster of genuine individuals who historically worked at the prominent investment bank during the 1980s, subsequent checks by analysts indicate that these former Wall Street professionals have absolutely no association with the newly spawned, spurious corporate entity operating the scam.
The research platform noted that the overarching strategy and psychological manipulation tactics bear striking similarities to earlier, controversial campaigns. Observers pointed out parallels to maneuvers previously associated with polarizing industry figures, such as Calvin Ayre, who in past years financed legal maneuvers involving the exact same historic Bitcoin address.
"The links between this company and this website are fake," BitMEX Research stated in their public advisory. "There is a page with an ‘advisory board’ that contains real people who worked at Salomon Brothers in the 1980s, however, these people seem to have no link to this new spurious entity."
As news of the advisory spread across cryptographic and financial security circles, wide swaths of the community weighed in with technical commentary. Security-conscious community members noted that a legitimate wallet owner wishing to prove activity or operational control over a dormant address would typically execute a basic, low-risk transaction—such as moving an insignificant fraction of a Bitcoin to a fresh address—rather than handing over sensitive private keys or personal documentation through an unverified third-party web interface.
This glaring discrepancy has led numerous analysts and cybersecurity investigators to conclude that the entire campaign is not an authentic legal proceeding or a genuine asset recovery effort. Instead, it is increasingly viewed as a meticulously planned social engineering scheme engineered exclusively to harvest sensitive private keys, personal identifying information, and credentials under the guise of formal legal compliance.
Security experts have repeatedly echoed BitMEX’s core directive: users, particularly those managing legacy holdings, must exercise extreme caution and under no circumstances interact with the fraudulent contact forms, connect vulnerable wallets to the site, or provide personal details.
Escalating Risks in the Broader Crypto Ecosystem
The emergence of these inventive social engineering tactics highlights the expanding sophistication, ingenuity, and persistence of modern cryptocurrency fraud. Perpetrators are continuously moving beyond simple phishing emails and malicious browser extensions, pivoting instead toward deep-seated protocol manipulations and targeted blockchain-level messaging to deceive asset holders.
This evolving threat landscape unfolds against a backdrop of rising financial losses across the digital asset economy. According to broader industry tracking data, the first half of 2025 alone witnessed malicious actors and sophisticated hacking syndicates steal over $2.1 billion across 75 distinct security incidents. This sobering figure represents a noticeable 10% increase in total stolen funds compared to the corresponding period in the previous year, underscoring the urgent need for heightened vigilance among both retail participants and institutional custodians holding legacy digital assets.
Asro 
Layla Zulfa 
Muslim