He stole $230 million in Bitcoin with a single phone call, burned $500,000 every night in nightclubs, bought 31 supercars but exposed his identity because of a watch—today we take you through the downfall of America's wildest cryptocurrency thief!
Chapter One: The Perfect Scam: Breaking a billionaire in 10 minutes
In August 2024, a Washington cryptocurrency millionaire received a call from the 'Google Security Center': 'Your account is being attacked by overseas hackers!'
The scammer impersonates customer service and lures step by step:
① Forged 'account anomaly' red alert, so realistic that even the Google logo is copied 1:1;
② Claims to 'help reinforce defenses', tricking him into downloading remote control software;
③ Remotely controls the computer, stealing the Bitcoin private keys from the cloud storage—4100 Bitcoins worth $245 million instantly evaporated!
Fun Fact:
The mastermind Malone Lam, only 20 years old, dropped out of high school but is well-versed in human weaknesses. He confessed: 'The rich fear asset loss the most; providing them with a sense of 'security' can open their safes!'
Chapter Two: Wild Spending: One Pagani exchanged for 380 Bitcoins
After the stolen funds arrived, Lam initiated the most insane consumption experiment in human history:
◾ Nightclub Spending Spree: Booked the top club in Los Angeles for a week, opened 55 bottles of Grey Goose + 48 bottles of Ace of Spades, spending $569,000 in one night (about 4 million RMB), staff recalled: 'He demanded to tip in Bitcoin!'
◾ Supercar Collection: Bought 31 luxury cars! Includes $3.8 million Pagani Huayra (limited edition), $1 million Lamborghini Revuelto, even gifted a Ferrari to a friend as a birthday present;
◾ Influencer Harvesting: Gave a model an Hermes Birkin bag, TikTok influencer Skylar exposed: 'He claimed to be the son of a Chinese billionaire, gave me a platinum bag just 10 minutes after we met!'
Absurd Truth:
He rented a $68,000/month ocean view luxury apartment in Miami, but was arrested after the Rolex store staff called the police when he tried to buy a $2 million diamond watch!
Chapter Three: Fatal Mistakes: An interstate manhunt triggered by a watch
When Lam was indulging in a world of luxury, the FBI had set a trap:
① IP Exposure: Accomplice Serrano logged into the money laundering exchange using his real IP, leading the police to trace him;
② Influencer Betrayal: The influencer who received the Birkin bag discovered he had forged his identity and exposed his spending records live;
③ Luxury Car Trap: He publicly customized his license plate 'CRYPTO-KING', and 22 luxury cars became tracking markers!
In September 2024, Lam was arrested at Atlanta airport before boarding, with seven hardware wallets containing Bitcoin found in his backpack...
🚨 Final Chapter: Blood and Tears Revelation: Are your assets really safe?
This case exposes three fatal flaws in cryptocurrency security:
⚠️ Social Engineering > Technical Hacking: 60% of theft starts with forged emails/calls
⚠️ Cloud Storage = Going Naked: Storing private keys on cloud storage is like hanging the key to your safe on the door
⚠️ Luxury Spending = Confession Letter: 31 luxury cars become evidence, $100 million in stolen funds still missing
Lam will stand trial on October 6 this year, facing up to 20 years in prison. His story warns us: in the dark forest of cryptocurrency, greed and vanity are more terrifying viruses than hackers!
