$330M Bitcoin Heist Traced to Social Engineering Scam Targeting U.S. Senior

A massive crypto theft has rocked the community, with a staggering $330 million in Bitcoin stolen in a sophisticated scam now believed to be the result of social engineering.

New developments in the investigation, led by well-known blockchain analyst ZachXBT, have shed light on how the attackers may have pulled it off.

According to updates shared by ZachXBT, the victim appears to be an elderly individual based in the United States. While the full recovery of the funds remains unlikely, efforts from the analyst and cryptocurrency exchange Binance have managed to freeze approximately $7 million linked to the stolen funds.

Investigators believe the attack may have stemmed from a phone-based scam operation, in which the perpetrators convinced the victim to grant access to their crypto wallet. This kind of manipulation, commonly referred to as social engineering, relies on psychological tactics rather than technical exploits to bypass security measures.

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Further leads have now surfaced. ZachXBT pointed to individuals allegedly connected to a fraudulent call center operation, including a suspect using the alias “X,” reportedly operating from the United Kingdom and believed to be of Somali origin. Another accomplice, known as “W0rk,” is thought to have assisted in the scheme. Both suspects have reportedly erased their online presence in the days following the theft.

While some of the stolen Bitcoin remains unaccounted for, the investigation is ongoing, and digital sleuths continue to track wallet movements and connections in hopes of identifying additional actors involved in the heist.

Alexander Stefanov