Senior citizen’s Bitcoin recovered with ZachXBT’s help

ZachXBT’s crypto research helped recover $275,000 worth of Bitcoin stolen from an elderly US user in an apparent social engineering scam.

Indian impersonators stole approximately 15 Bitcoin (BTC) from a Coinbase user in April, according to blockchain detective. The fraudsters posed as support representatives of the crypto exchange and successfully hijacked the victim’s life savings.

Bitcoin rose as high as $71,000 that month, valuing the user’s assets at over $1 million.

ZachXBT also stated that the Indian scam group attacked other users and stole more than $5 million from several victims. ZachXBT said the funds were laundered through Tron’s blockchain, centralized exchanges and over-the-counter desks.

In April 2024, an elderly victim from the US was targeted by Indian call scammers posing as Coinbase support, resulting in the theft of a large portion of their life savings.

I am pleased to share that I helped recover $275,000 that was recently seized and was going to be sent back to them.

Theft txn… pic.twitter.com/kJO7wMmtOl

— ZachXBT (@zachxbt) October 7, 2024

Screenshots shared by the researcher confirmed that US authorities eventually seized the funds. It looks like the victim will get $275,000 back after the ordeal. While blockchain and crypto aim to centralize finance and expand access to capital, the nascent industry has become a hotbed of bad actors.

Hackers stole $120 million from the protocols last month, according to PeckShield, and Scam Sniffer reported that users lost $43 million to phishing attacks in September.

Names like ZachXBT have devoted time and expertise to find a solution to the ongoing problem. The pseudonymous security actor contributed to dozens of seizures by providing on-chain analysis and tracking stolen funds.

Last month, Miami police arrested two scammers behind a $243 million Bitcoin heist with the help of ZachXBT. They were also indicted on formal charges by the U.S. Department of Justice after flaunting stolen wealth from Genesis’ sole creditor.