A crypto investor has lost $6.9 million after purchasing a “discounted” cold wallet from Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok. According to blockchain security firm SlowMist, the wallet had a compromised private key from the start, allowing hackers to drain all funds within hours of activation.

The wallet, bought through Douyin’s e-commerce platform, was marketed as factory-sealed and offered at a lower price. However, SlowMist warns that such wallets are often tampered with before sale and are used as bait in sophisticated scams. Hella, a former Bitmain team member and friend of the victim, described the wallet as a “hot trap” used to trick buyers into handing over their crypto.

The stolen assets were quickly funneled through Huiwang, also known as the Huione Group—a Cambodian conglomerate linked to illicit financial networks including Huione Pay and Huione Crypto. Despite being tracked by SlowMist, experts say the chances of recovering the funds are slim.

This incident is the latest in a growing trend of hardware-based crypto heists. SlowMist’s CISO, 23pds, cautioned users against taking risks with unknown sellers, emphasizing that saving a few hundred dollars could mean losing everything. He stressed that it’s never worth gambling your life savings on “cheap” wallets.

Adding to the growing concerns, a Chinese printer company was recently accused of spreading crypto-stealing malware through its official drivers, resulting in another $953,000 in losses. Earlier this year, Kaspersky revealed that counterfeit Android phones embedded with malware were sold online to steal sensitive data, including cryptocurrencies.

Experts continue to urge users to buy cold wallets only from trusted, verified sources, and to be skeptical of any online deal that seems too good to be true.