The victim demanded the return of 90% of the stolen funds, stressing the traceability of WBTC and the challenge of laundering such a substantial amount.
A poisoning scammer has made headlines by stealing a whopping 1,155 Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) worth $71 million and a message.
The attacker used a vanity address service to create an address strikingly similar to the victim’s, prompting the victim to mistakenly transfer funds to the attacker’s address.
51 ETH Valued at $151,600 Returned To The Victim.
After the theft, the scammer took an unusual step by contacting the victim through the Ethereum blockchain, seeking their Telegram details. Subsequently, the scammer returned 51 Ethereum (ETH), valued at approximately $151,600, to the victim.
The partial return, totaling only 4.2% of the stolen funds, came with a request for ongoing communication, as the scammer promised to initiate a call the following day.
The victim responded by demanding the return of 90% of the stolen funds, citing WBTC’s traceability. Also, victim set a deadline of 10:00 am UTC on May 6, 2024, for the scammer to comply. They asserted that reversing the theft was impossible due to the blockchain’s traceability.
In addition, the partial return of stolen funds led to speculation about the scammer’s identity and motives. Some said it might be an effort to repair their reputation in the crypto community, while others saw it as a strategic move to avoid legal consequences or aid future fraudulent activities.
Victims and Their Loses.
Amidst the chaos, WBTC stood at $62,365.45, showing moderate growth over the past 24 hours. The crypto community closely monitors the unusual direct interaction between scammers and their victims.
Meanwhile, on May 3, 2024, an unknown trader lost over $67.8 million worth of WBTC in a single transaction in an address-poisoning scam.
On April 29, another investor lost approximately $33 million in a fraud linked to the ZKasino gambling platform. Even after the ZKasino incident, crypto losses from scams and hacks in April were estimated at $25.7 million, marking the lowest figure since 2021, when Certik, an on-chain intelligence firm, began monitoring such data.