This 20-year-old committed one of the biggest p2p heists in history
In Aug 2024 he scammed someone for 4,100 $BTC ($385,4M)
I spent ~10 hours researching all the data: the info I found was shocking...
Here is how he did it and how to avoid it๐งต๐
2/โฎ Malone Lam is a 20-year-old Singaporean
๐ท Back in 2024, together with his accomplice, Jeandiel Serrano, they were arrested
๐ท They stole $230M in crypto from an anonymous man at that time
Let's dive in๐
4/โฎ After numerous back-and-forths and manipulations of the victim, he gained access to the Google Drive
๐ท There, he found the victimโs personal information
๐ท This included details of his crypto holdings with Gemini
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5/โฎ After that, his partner, Jeandiel, called the victim again, posing as a Gemini employee
๐ท He convinced the victim to download some software that was supposed to help protect his crypto holdings
But unfortunately...
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6/โฎ The scammers used this software to gain access to his private keys
๐ท After that, they stole 4,100 bitcoins, which at the time were worth $230M
๐ท They then laundered the stolen funds through various crypto exchanges and mixing services
But how did they get caught?
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7/โฎ Malone started spending insane amounts of money, attracting a lot of attention
๐ท In one of the clubs in Los Angeles, he spent $569k in one night
๐ท He gifted 5 Hermรจs Birkin bags to random women
๐ท He also bought 31 supercars, and a $2M watch, and rented several luxury apartments
8/โฎ He was arrested in Miami after arriving there by private jet from Los Angeles
๐ท This story shows how easy it is to lose your crypto
๐ท And how easy it is to actually underestimate the fact that you haven't secured your crypto enough
Here is some advice on protecting ur crypto๐
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9/โฎ Unauthorized Access
๐ท As obvious as it may sound, don't give remote access to your device to individuals you donโt trust
๐ท Whether it's an employee of Google, Binance, etc
๐ท It's unlikely that anyone from such companies would need this
10/โฎ 2-Factor Authentication
๐ท Always enable 2-Factor Authentication, especially for email and cloud accounts
๐ท Ideally, choose an authenticator app from Google
๐ท It's better to avoid SMS-based 2FA to prevent SIM-swapping attacks
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11/โฎ Secure key storage
๐ทNever store your private keys digitally or you're as vulnerable as the victim in the Malone case
๐ท To protect your assets, seek out wallets that offer more secure key management
๐ท And keep your private keys only on paper or special metal plates
12/โฎ Original Source + Conclusion
๐ท Before the conclusion, I want to thank @zachxbt for his research, which made this article possible
๐ท Remember that crypto scams grow every day, and new variations keep appearing
๐ท Your asset security will never be excessive, so donโt neglect it
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๐ท Remember to like, repost, and drop a comment with your opinion #scam $BTC
