On May 3, 2024, a well-arranged poisoning operation saw the disappearance of 1,155 Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) worth about $71. 1 million. The attacker used vanity address services to generate an address that was almost identical to that of the victim, which eventually led the victim to send funds to the wrong address created by the attacker.
This tactic, visible on the Etherscan blockchain explorer, showcased a deceptive strategy where the scammer bombarded the victim with multiple transactions, leading to the theft.
#PeckShieldAlert The scammer took ~$71 million worth of WBTC through a poisoning scam and has now sent 51 ETH to the victim, along with a message pic.twitter.com/GL1I6eubWf
— PeckShieldAlert (@PeckShieldAlert) May 9, 2024
Scammer Requests Telegram Contact
Following the theft, the scammer made an unusual move by contacting the victim directly through the Ethereum blockchain, requesting their Telegram contact details. The scammer transferred 51 Ethereum (ETH), worth around $151,600, back to the victim.
This partial return, amounting to only 4.2% of the stolen funds, was accompanied by a request for further communication, with the scammer promising to call the next day.
The victim retorted the adversary to give back 90 % of the stolen funds, stating that WBTC is traceable and that even if the defendant were able to launder it, the possibility was low on such a huge amount. The victim set a deadline of 10:00 am UTC on May 6, 2024, to comply with the demand.
With all the chaos, Wrapped Bitcoin was worth $62,365. 45, moderately growing for the last 24 hours. The crypto community continues to monitor this rare instance of direct engagement between a scammer and their victim.
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