significant crypto theft took an unexpected turn as the perpetrator began returning millions in stolen assets following negotiations with the victim. The scam involved a substantial amount of Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC), valued at approximately $70.5 million, stolen through a sophisticated phishing scheme.
Details of the Scam and Initial Loss
On May 3, a crypto trader was duped by an address-poisoning phishing attack, resulting in the loss of 1,155 WBTC. Address-poisoning is a common method used by scammers to mislead individuals into sending digital assets to malicious addresses. The stolen WBTC was quickly converted into 22,956 Ethereum (ETH) and scattered across numerous wallets to hide the trail.
Negotiations and Partial Recovery
The victim, understanding the challenges of laundering such a vast amount of stolen cryptocurrency, proposed a 10% bounty to the scammer for the return of the majority of the funds. This offer aimed to incentivize the scammer to return 90% of the stolen assets, emphasizing the difficulty and risks of laundering the stolen funds. Subsequently, the scammer returned approximately 11,446.87 ETH, worth around $34.7 million, which is 50% of the stolen assets, to the victim’s address.
Ongoing Communication and Bounty Fulfillment
Further communications ensued between the scammer and the victim, including an on-chain message from the scammer requesting a Telegram username for further contact. This interaction followed the return of an initial 51 ETH (over $150,000), demonstrating the scammer’s willingness to negotiate.
Hacker’s Profile and Ongoing Investigations
Blockchain security firm Slow Mist has linked the scammer to other phishing operations targeting the Tron and Ethereum blockchains, revealing a broader pattern of cybercriminal activity. The firm identified numerous small transactions from an associated address, used to prepare for phishing attacks, and traced some of the scammer’s activities to mobile stations in Hong Kong.
A Rare Outcome in Crypto Thefts
This case highlights a rare instance where negotiation led to the significant recovery of stolen cryptocurrency assets. While the crypto community often sees irreversible losses due to scams, this scenario underscores the potential for resolution through strategic negotiation, even in the opaque and often unforgiving realm of cryptocurrency theft.
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