Encoded X post tricks Grok and Bankrbot into sending about 3 billion DRB tokens from Grok's wallet
Grok-linked Bankr wallet (Bankrbot on X)
On 4 May 2026 an attacker drained about 3 billion DRB tokens, worth roughly $150,000 to $200,000 depending on the estimate, from a Bankr wallet linked to xAI's Grok on Base. Reports say the attacker first sent the wallet a free Bankr Club membership NFT that widened what it could authorize, then posted a Morse-coded message; Grok decoded it and the Bankr automation treated Grok's reply as a valid transfer order. No private key, smart contract or malware was involved, and some funds were later returned. An AI's text output should never count as permission to move money.
Why this severity: $155K reported stolen, 1 victims, only partly contained.
AI involvement
AI agents as the target. An encoded post got Grok to output a transfer command that the Bankrbot agent then executed from Grok's wallet, which reports describe as prompt injection across two chained AI agents.
Give agents a small, capped wallet with allow-listed destinations, and never let an agent that can sign read untrusted content.
- Started
- May 4, 2026
- Closed
- May 13, 2026
- Chains
- Base
- Method
- AI agent hijacking
- Reported stolen
- $155K
- Victims
- 1
At risk
- Grok-linked Bankr wallet (Bankrbot on X)
- Base wallets
What to do now
- If you use Bankr or a similar agent wallet, review which accounts or bots can issue commands for it and what any NFT or membership it holds unlocks.
- Lower spending limits and turn on manual approval for transfers.
Stay safe
Am I affected?
The DRB tokens came from a Bankr wallet linked to Grok, not from user wallets. You are at risk if you run an AI agent whose replies or outputs can trigger transfers by another bot or wallet service.
What to do now
- If you use Bankr or a similar agent wallet, review which accounts or bots can issue commands for it and what any NFT or membership it holds unlocks.
- Lower spending limits and turn on manual approval for transfers.
How to avoid this
- Never treat an AI's text output as authorization to move funds; require a separate confirmation from the owner.
- Allow-list destination addresses and cap each transfer in the wallet policy, outside the model.
- Don't let unsolicited NFTs or tokens sent to an agent wallet change its permissions.
Timeline 3
Cointelegraph reported the free-NFT permission step, put the loss at $155,000 to $174,000 and said some funds were later returned.
SourceNeuralTrust analyzed the theft as prompt injection combined with excessive agency, after Grok had been given expanded permissions.
SourceAbout 3 billion DRB tokens were moved from Grok's Bankr wallet on Base after Grok decoded a Morse-coded post and Bankrbot acted on it; coverage began the same day.
Source
Alerts & on-chain evidence 1
News & write-ups ›2
How this method works
An AI agent that can move funds reads hidden instructions, in a post, web page, document, token name or its own memory, and sends the funds to the attacker. Read about ai agent hijacking →
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