After six days of inactivity, stolen cryptocurrency funds associated with a recent $71 million wallet impersonation scam have started to move.
The incident occurred on May 3 when an investor transferred $71 million worth of Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) to a fraudulent wallet address. The scammer utilized a bait wallet address with similar alphanumeric characters, tricking the victim into believing it was legitimate. Despite the slight discrepancy in characters, often overlooked by investors during validation, the victim transferred 97% of their assets to the scammer's address.
The stolen WBTC, totaling 1,155 coins, was promptly converted to approximately 23,000 ETH by the scammer and remained dormant in their wallet for six days. However, on May 8, blockchain investigation firm PeckShield detected movement in the stolen funds.
The scammer began laundering the stolen cryptocurrency by breaking it down into smaller amounts and distributing it across multiple wallets. Around 400 crypto wallets were used to disperse the funds, eventually leading to over 150 wallets. Nevertheless, the origins of the stolen funds can still be traced back to the unidentified scammer at present.
It's worth noting that crypto scammers and hackers tend to be more active during bull markets, taking advantage of increased market activity and investor sentiment.
May 2024, Cryptoniteuae