HONEST CASE FILE
Vector: cloned DeFi front-endInstrument: ETHLoss: $41,000Location: Toronto, CanadaTimeline: minutes to drainRecovered: 15%
Reported operator: ALGORITHM DEFI ↗
How it began
Marcus connected his wallet to what looked like an established DeFi platform and approved a transaction to enable trading. The site had cloned a real protocol down to the logo.
Where it turned
That approval handed the contract permission to move his tokens. Within minutes the wallet was drained to addresses he did not control, and the funds were quickly routed through a mixer.
“They told me drainer cases are the hardest, and they were right. I appreciated that they tried and did not charge me to fail.”
What we did
- We helped him revoke every open token approval immediately.
- We traced the drained tokens to a consolidation wallet, then into a mixer where the line of sight broke.
- We froze the small portion that touched a compliant exchange before mixing.
- We documented the clone for warnings and future pattern-matching.
15%
recovered. Drainer-and-mixer cases are the toughest in this field; we show them because honesty matters more than a highlight reel.
Red flags in hindsight
- A swap or DeFi site asking for unlimited token approval
- A clone of a known protocol on a new domain
- Pressure to act fast on a launch
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