# Perfect Pie’s First Security Incident

*How We Caught and Stopped a 1.46M $PIE Exploit*

By [Perfect Pie](https://paragraph.com/@perfect-pie) · 2025-08-20

---

**The Discovery (August 18, 2025)**
-----------------------------------

During routine analysis of our 10-day growth metrics, we noticed something odd. Two users — let’s call them **User X** and **User Y** — had impossibly high claim-to-game ratios.

While legitimate players claim rewards once per game, these accounts were claiming **4–10x more rewards than games played**.

**The Investigation**
---------------------

Deep diving into the data revealed:

*   **10 exploiter accounts** systematically abusing the claim system
    
*   **603 fraudulent claims** attempting to steal **1,461,715 $PIE tokens**
    
*   The exploit **peaked on August 18** with one user attempting to claim **1.2M $PIE in a single day**
    
*   Exploiters represented only **1.3% of players** but attempted to steal **81.7% of all rewards**
    

  

**The Response**
----------------

Within hours of discovery, we:

1.  **Deployed a fix** to prevent multiple claims per game
    
2.  **Created a forensic backup** of all suspicious transactions
    
3.  **Marked 603 fraudulent claims as “failed”** before payout
    
4.  **Successfully blocked 1,461,715 $PIE** from being distributed fraudulently
    

**The Outcome**
---------------

*   **92.6% of attempted theft prevented** — only 104k $PIE was paid out before detection
    
*   **Zero new exploitation attempts** since fix deployment
    
*   **772 honest players’ rewards preserved**
    
*   **Full audit trail maintained** for transparency
    

And most importantly — **nothing of real-world value was lost**, as $PIE currently has no external monetary value.

**Lessons Learned**
-------------------

This incident, while stressful, proved our system’s resilience. Our safeguards caught the vast majority of fraudulent activity before tokens were distributed.

We’ve since implemented additional **validation layers** and **real-time anomaly detection**.

We also want to thank **User X, User Y, and the other testers** who (intentionally or not) helped us uncover this exploit early. They’ve contributed to making Perfect Pie stronger and more secure.

When $PIE does gain value in the future, we’ll make sure our current community is **made whole** by allowing players to claim new tokens based on their existing scores. This way, no one loses the progress they’ve earned.

Most importantly: **Perfect Pie’s economy remains strong**, with **326,669 $PIE** legitimately distributed to real players who earned it by drawing perfect circles.

The game continues stronger than ever — **try your hand at drawing the perfect circle at** [**perfectpie.xyz**](http://perfectpie.xyz) 🎉

---

*Originally published on [Perfect Pie](https://paragraph.com/@perfect-pie/perfect-pies-first-security-incident)*