Deciphering Disaster: How a Morse Code Prompt Injection Drained $200,000 via Grok and Bankrbot
Do Son 
A user on X successfully manipulated Grok and Bankrbot through a message encoded in Morse code, orchestrating the illicit transfer of three billion DRB tokens on the Base network. The transaction, valued at approximately $200,000, underscores a sophisticated exploitation of AI-driven financial agents, as reported by Cryptopolitan.
The assailant, operating under the pseudonym ilhamrafli.base.eth, bypassed standard command protocols by utilizing ciphered text. Grok effectively deciphered the transmission and relayed a directive to Bankrbot to dispatch three billion DebtReliefBot:NATIVE to a specified wallet. Following the breach, the perpetrator’s X account was summarily terminated.
Prior to the incursion, the user transferred a Bankr Club Membership NFT to a known Grok wallet across the Ethereum and Base ecosystems. This NFT conferred elevated privileges upon the Grok wallet within the Bankr framework, granting it the authority to execute transfers, swaps, and various other Web3 operations. Without the possession of this token, the agent’s capacity for autonomous financial movement remained strictly circumscribed.
Bankrbot was already integrated with Grok, designed to execute mandates delivered in natural language; mere mentions on X sufficed to trigger on-chain activities. The attacker compelled Grok to translate the Morse code message directly for Bankrbot‘s consumption, effectively circumventing additional explanatory layers or security verifications.
According to investigative sources, the decrypted command was a straightforward solicitation to transmit three billion DRB to the assailant’s address. Upon receipt, the beneficiary expeditiously liquidated the assets on the open market.
Remarkably, the funds were subsequently returned to the Grok wallet after being converted into ETH and USDC. While the value of the DebtReliefBot token experienced a precipitous, momentary decline, it has since stabilized. Currently, DRB is traded with minimal liquidity via LBank, exerting negligible influence on the broader cryptocurrency market.
Cryptopolitan observes that this incident raises profound questions regarding the autonomy of AI agents within the Web3 landscape. A meticulously crafted prompt injection resulted in a tangible transfer of assets, suggesting that the integration of AI agents into crypto initiatives may inadvertently introduce a novel and potent attack vector.
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