WBTC thief scatters $71M loot among crypto wallets
Learn about the swift movement and dispersion of the stolen funds and the challenges in tracking and recovering assets in the decentralized cryptocurrency space.
The crypto assets pilfered from a wallet scam worth $71 million are now in motion following a period of dormancy lasting six days. Funds associated with a recent scam involving the impersonation of a $71 million wallet are now active after being dormant for six days. On May 3, an individual transferred $71 million in Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) to a deceptive wallet address, falling prey to a scam involving wallet manipulation. The perpetrator crafted a wallet address resembling the victim’s through similar alphanumeric characters and initiated a small transaction to the victim’s account.
Similar to many investors, the victim verified the wallet address by matching its first and last characters, subsequently transferring 97% of their assets to it. However, discerning eyes would have noted differences in the obscured middle characters, often concealed on platforms for aesthetic reasons.
Crazy!
Someone lost 1,155 $WBTC($71M) due to a phishing attack.
How did it happen?????
6 hours ago, this guy created a new address" 0xd9A1b0B1e1aE382DbDc898Ea68012FfcB2853a91" and transferred 0.05 $ETH to this new address.
A scammer generated an address with the same starting… pic.twitter.com/iiFloZBTga — Lookonchain (@lookonchain) May 3, 2024
Hackers frequently convert stolen cryptocurrencies into Ether (ETH) due to its ease of siphoning through privacy protocols like Tornado Cash — a tactic employed by this particular hacker. The 1,155 WBTC was promptly converted into approximately 23,000 ETH and remained inactive in the scammer’s wallet for six days.
On May 8, blockchain analysis company PeckShield detected movement of some of the stolen funds. The scammer commenced subdividing the loot into smaller portions and transferring it to numerous crypto wallets.
#PeckShieldAlert #Layering The scammer who grabbed ~$71 million worth of $WBTC via a poisoning #scam has laundered the stolen funds (~23K $ETH) by sending and spreading them across a large number of wallets. https://t.co/Blnw5TMT99 pic.twitter.com/CATCb6t1LL — PeckShieldAlert (@PeckShieldAlert) May 8, 2024
To obfuscate the origin of the stolen funds and lessen their traceability, the scammer utilized around 400 crypto wallets. Eventually, the funds were dispersed across over 150 wallets. However, as of the current writing, all the stolen funds can still be tracked back to the unidentified scammer.
The swift movement and dispersion of stolen crypto funds highlight the ongoing challenges in tracking and recovering assets in the decentralized cryptocurrency space. Robust security measures and heightened awareness remain crucial to mitigate such scams effectively.
