Wed, May 08, 2024 at 11:20

• 

  Joy

  • Hey Annie, you remember the news about the $71 million Bitcoin scam that happened on May 3rd?

  • Well, there's been a development!🕵️‍♀️

  • 
• Annie

  • Oh, really?😮 What happened?

  
• 

  Joy

  • So, the stolen funds have started moving after six days.

  • The scammer tricked an investor by creating a wallet address with similar alphanumeric characters.

  • The investor ended up transferring 97% of their assets, which was $71 million worth of Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC)!😱

  • 
• Annie

  • That's terrible!😰 How did the scammer manage to do that?

  
• ADward

  • Hold on! Behold, an advertisement awaits. Legend has it that clicking on this ad will make the AI server even smarter... 😅

  
• 

  Joy

  • Well, investors usually validate wallet addresses by matching the first and last few characters.

  • But they often miss discrepancies in the middle characters that are usually hidden on platforms for visual appeal.

  • In this case, if the investor had carefully examined the wallet address, they would have noticed the difference.🧐

• Annie

  • I see...

  • So what did the scammer do after getting the Bitcoins?

  
• 

  Joy

  • The scammer swiftly converted the stolen WBTC into approximately 23,000 ETH.

  • This is a common tactic used to make siphoning easier through privacy protocols like Tornado Cash.

  • The converted funds remained dormant in the scammers wallet for six days.

  • But today, on May 8th, they started moving!🏃‍♂️

  • 
• Annie

  • Where are they moving to?

  • Can't they be traced?

  
• 

  Joy

  • The scammer began splitting the loot into multiple parts and distributing them across several crypto wallets.

  • To reduce traceability, around 400 wallets were used, ultimately leading to over 150 wallets holding the stolen funds.

  • But, at the time of writing, the stolen funds can still be traced back to the unknown scammer.🕵️‍♀️

• Annie

  • Wow, that's quite a strategy!😲 But it's scary to think that such scams are happening.

  
• 

  Joy

  • Absolutely!

  • Crypto scammers and hackers have been particularly active during bullish market conditions.

  • It's crucial for investors to educate themselves on secure cryptocurrency storage practices.📚

• Annie

  • I see...

  • So, is this news good or bad for the market?

  
• 

  Joy

  • Unfortunately, it's bad news, Annie.😔 It shows that scams are still prevalent in the crypto space.

  • 

  • But on a positive note, it also serves as a reminder for investors to be more cautious and educate themselves about secure crypto practices.

  • To sum up, this article is considered a 😱Bearish for investors!!