As of August 19, ZachXBT, a prominent blockchain detective platform, revealed a significant crypto theft that involved a sophisticated social engineering scam. According to the data, the theft totals $243 million in losses from the Genesis creditor.
1/ An investigation into how Greavys (Malone Iam), Wiz (Veer Chetal), and Box (Jeandiel Serrano) stole $243M from a single person last month in a highly sophisticated social engineering attack and my efforts which have helped lead to multiple arrests and millions frozen. pic.twitter.com/dcY1e9xsPd
— ZachXBT (@zachxbt) September 19, 2024
Impact and Aftermath of a Major Crypto Theft
This crypto theft involved a complex scheme in which the bad actors, known by their handles of Greavys, Wiz, and Box, actual names Malone Iam, Veer Chetal, and Jeandiel Serrano, respectively, impersonated Google and Gemini support staff.
The scammers convinced the victim that his account with the Gemini crypto exchange had been breached. In this context, the fraudster convinced the user to reset his 2FA arrangement and transfer the funds to his wallet. Furthermore, while doing so, the scammers even got the user to share his screen, whereby he inadvertently revealed the private keys of his Bitcoin wallet.
The crypto theft resulted in the hacking of 4,064 BTC from the victim’s Bitcoin wallet, which was nearly $238 million, and the transfer of another 74.22 BTC directly from his Gemini account. Within a very short time after the theft, the hacked funds were transferred into more than 15 exchanges, with different cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, and Monero involved to obscure their trail.
The investigation showed that Wiz was given the lion’s share of stolen assets amounting to approximately $34.5 million traced from his digital address. More interestingly, a fourth conspirator has been said to have helped Wiz launder the stolen funds.
Law enforcement agencies’ less-than-pleasing response to the incident has arrested two of the three major villains; several million dollars of tainted money has been frozen to temper the loss emanating from this high-profile crypto theft.
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Box and Greavys were arrested in Miami and Los Angeles, respectively, after allegedly taking part in one of the most severe crypto thefts ever. According to investigating authorities, Greavys “blew much of the ill-gotten gains on extravagances like high-end jewellery and wild nightlife, at one point blowing as much as $500,000 per night in clubs in and around Los Angeles and Miami.”
Gemini Impostor Caught with $18 Million
Box, who had misrepresented himself as a representative of the Gemini exchange, was found to hold approximately $18 million in various funds related to his address. According to the famous blockchain investigator ZachXBT, large on-chain transactions with law enforcement probably accounted for more than assets directly connected with this incident.
One crypto theft resulted in a major Bitcoin loss to an unidentified victim. Attackers received him to install AnyDesk, a “Remote Desktop” program, which they linked to illegal access to his computer screen.
ZachXBT declares that this resulted in the extraction of private keys from the Bitcoin Core application, which led to the theft of Bitcoin, including 4064 BTC, on August 19 at 4:05 A.M. UTC. The transaction under the hash 4b277b…fbe9090 is among the major thefts that have taken place in recent times.
ZachXBT is one of the most popular figures in blockchain analysis, and its work resonates in handling this security breach. Handling numerous cases closed by multiple arrests and millions of dollars of frozen assets testifies to the community about the emergence of blockchain analysts with a heightened capability to work with law enforcement to track down.
The main motive was to apprehend culprits in blockchain-related crimes. This crypto theft brought out the risks lurking behind each digital asset and the need for its tight security.
Conclusion
This major crypto theft points to the possible flaws in digital asset systems and how intelligently criminal elements target these. While the crypto community continues to bleed from this hack, the arrest of key individuals and partial recovery of diverted money have been encouraging.
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