The elderly American became a victim of a large-scale hacking attack, resulting in the loss of bitcoins worth $330 million. To date, this is the fifth largest theft in the history of the cryptocurrency industry.
According to blockchain security expert ZachXBT, the attackers used advanced social engineering tactics to gain access to the victim's wallet. The hack occurred on April 28, when ZachXBT discovered a suspicious transaction of 3,520 bitcoins worth $330.7 million. At that time, the expert dismissed the theory that the attack could have been carried out by the North Korean group Lazarus Group, suggesting that the responsibility lies with independent hackers.
After the transfer, the stolen funds were quickly laundered through six cryptocurrency exchanges and converted into the privacy-focused cryptocurrency Monero.
Once the funds are transferred to Monero, tracking becomes nearly impossible due to its architecture that ensures privacy. After this stage, the likelihood of recovery significantly decreases, said Hakan Unal, a senior security specialist at Cyvers Alerts.
He also suggested that the attackers probably had pre-created accounts on several exchanges and over-the-counter platforms. This means the attack was deliberate.
Interestingly, the bitcoins were stored in the cryptocurrency wallets of an elderly American since 2017.