Gairika Mitra
Federal prosecutors on Thursday formally charged two fraudsters with crypto theft amounting to more thanΒ $230 million in cryptocurrencies. This move was revealed by blockchain invΠ΅stigator ZachXBT.Β
Malone Lam, 20, and Jeandiel Serrano, 21, were charged with stealing and laundering crypto from a victim in Washington DC. Lam is a Singaporean citizen and operates under the guise of βAnne Hathawayβ and β$$$.β Serrano, on the other hand, uses βVersaceGodβ and β@SkidStarβ to operate online.Β
The indictment notes that the duo would conduct thefts related to cryptocurrency, and would even launder the stolen crypto through exchanges and mixing services. βThe conspirators would fraudulently gain access to victim cryptocurrency accounts and then transfer victim funds into their possession. They laundered the proceeds, including by moving the funds through variΠΎus mixers and exchanges using βpeel chains,β pass-through wallets, and virtual private networks (VPNs) to mask their true identities,” the press release said.Β
The document further added that after collecting the funds Lam and Serrano would spend their laundered cryptocurrency on international travel and nightclubs. They would even use luxury automobiles, watches, jewelry, designer handbags, and rental homes in Los Angeles and Miami.
Related: Hong Kong Proposes Rules Allowing Insurers to Invest in Crypto
Investigation into Crypto Theft Unfolds
ZachXBT (@zachxbt) first identified the potential theft of approximately 4,100 bitcoins in August. The analyst noted that these threat actors targeted a Genesis creditor in a sophisticated scam. In the process, they first posed as Google Support using a spoofed number to gain access to the victim’s personal accounts.Β
They then impersonated Gemini Support through falsely claiming that the victim’s account had been hacked. Following some social engineering, the attackers convinced the victim tΠΎ reset their two-factor authentication (2FA) and then transfer funds from their Gemini account to a compromised wallet.
They also persuaded the victim to use AnyDesk for screen sharing. It ultimately exposed private keys from the victim’s Bitcoin Core wallet.
Related: US Lawmakers Propose Tax Breaks for Small Stablecoin Payments and Staking
The analyst also shared recently that several high-profile and celebrity X accounts have been hacked, promoting a fake token.
He revealed that meme coin scammers targeted large companies like Lenovo India, Yahoo News UK, and the EU Commission Directorate General for Regional and Urban Policy. Besides this, the fraudsters also didnβt spare celebrities like Oliver Stone and Alexandre Lacazette, the French footballer.Β However, fortunately,Β the scammers couldnβt make much profit out of this scheme.
Crypto scams are a common affair and one of the ways to safeguard from them is by checking if the tokens come from legitimate organizations. One of the other ways to do this is by checking the liquidity pool size.
Read More
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- 3 Most Common Crypto Scams in 2024 and How to Spot Them
GAIRIKA
Gairika is a cryptocurrency journalist with a focus on Bitcoin and blockchain technology.
