A man has been arrested in Scottsdale, Arizona, on multiple felony charges for allegedly posing as an Uber driver and stealing over $300,000 in crypto from customers. The suspect, identified as Nuruhussein Hussein, was taken into custody on December 11.
An Uber driver is an independent contractor who drives for the ride-hailing company Uber. They use their own vehicles to transport passengers who request rides through the Uber app.
The $300K Crypto Theft
According to court documents, Hussein targeted two victims, one in March and one in October, outside the W Scottsdale hotel near Camelback and Scottsdale roads. He allegedly pretended to be an Uber driver, calling out the names of supposed passengers, and then convinced them to hand over their phones. He would then transfer crypto from their Coinbase accounts.
The victims reported that Hussein used two different methods of obtaining their phones. He would either claim his phone was dead or offer to help troubleshoot the Uber app. Once in possession of the phone, Hussein would quickly transfer the crypto. Although no weapon was seen, one of the victims reported that he made threats implying that he had a gun.
Prosecutors pushed for a cash-only bond of $200,000, citing the level of skill shown in the fraud and the alleged threats made to one of the victims. The judge obliged and ordered that Hussein be placed under electronic monitoring after the settlement. The Uber scammer will also prohibited from leaving Maricopa County and using the internet.
Although court documents indicate the thefts totaled around $223,000, the Scottsdale Police Department reported that the total was more than $300,000. The police have advised Arizona residents to be cautious when using ride-sharing services.
In-Person Crypto Crimes on the Rise
According to GitHub, there have been at least 19 recorded incidents of in-person crypto crimes in different countries this year. Recent cases include a Chinese man abducted for $1 million crypto ransom and a Bitcoin investor murdered over 3 BTC.
The blockchain detective, ZachXBT, also claimed to have received multiple messages from victims of crypto home invasion thefts in Western Europe over the past few months. ZachXBT also shared a specific case where a victim was robbed of $4.3 million in crypto during a home invasion in June 2024.
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