Task scammer loses $4.8 million in Bitcoin during Ledger wallet theft, Chainalysis says
A task scam operator lost more than 60 BTC worth approximately $4.8 million after their Ledger wallets were compromised and drained in a recent theft, according to blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis.
One of the largest victims of a recent theft involving Ledger hardware wallets was an operator behind an online task scam, according to blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis. The perpetrator lost more than 60 BTC, valued at approximately $4.8 million, representing illicit earnings gathered from deceiving victims.[1][2][3]
The underlying scheme paid participants to create fake reviews and sales for legitimate products. Victims were subsequently confronted with an artificial negative balance and instructed to deposit their own funds before they could unlock and receive their promised payments.[1][3]
On September 22, the scam operator consolidated and distributed the proceeds into three separate Ledger addresses. However, on October 9, thieves drained all three wallets in single transactions sent to a central destination flagged for handling stolen funds. Transaction flow diagrams released by Chainalysis indicate the October 9 drain was executed after spyware compromised the scammer's Ledger setup.[1][2][3]
Key facts
- Chainalysis reported that a task scammer was among the largest victims in a recent Ledger theft, losing over 60 BTC worth roughly $4.8 million.
- The stolen crypto came from a task scam that paid users to generate fake sales and reviews before requiring them to deposit their own money to resolve fabricated negative balances.
- The scammer moved the illicit proceeds into three separate Ledger addresses on September 22.
- Thieves drained all three Ledger addresses on October 9, making one transfer each to a single wallet flagged as holding stolen funds.
- A Chainalysis transaction diagram attributed the October 9 theft to spyware that compromised the scammer's Ledger wallets.
Sources · 3 sources
- WB
Wu Blockchain@WuBlockchainPost on X ·
Chainalysis: Task Scammer Loses Over 60 BTC Worth $4.8M in Ledger Wallet Theft Chainalysis said that one of the largest victims of a recent theft involving Ledger wallets was a scammer who lost over 60 BTC, worth approximately $4.8 million. The funds originated from a task scam in which people were paid to generate fake sales and reviews for real products, then told to deposit their own money after a negative balance appeared in order to receive payment. On September 22, the scammer transferred the proceeds to three separate Ledger addresses. On October 9, thieves drained all three addresses through one transaction each, sending the funds to the same wallet, which has been flagged as associated with stolen funds.
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Cointelegraph@CointelegraphPost on X ·
🚨 JUST IN: A task scam operator lost more than 60 $BTC worth about $4.8 million in the Ledger theft after thieves drained three addresses holding the scam’s proceeds. https://t.co/r87w7c5Y7b
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wyck 📴@wyckoffwebPost on X ·
It turns out one of the biggest victims of the recent Ledger wallet hack was a scammer himself. According to Chainalysis, the scammer had stolen millions through a fake online job scheme where people were tricked into depositing money to unlock their earnings. On September 22, he moved over 60 BTC, worth around $4.8M, into three Ledger wallets. On October 9, another hacker emptied all three wallets. So, a scammer got scammed.
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