2024-09-20 12:15
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As reported on August 19, 2024, on-chain detective ZachXBT noted a suspicious transaction on the Bitcoin network involving 4,064 BTC, valued at $238 million at the time.
This transaction was flagged as suspicious because, after transferring such a large amount of Bitcoin to a new wallet, the individual fragmented the BTC and sent it to multiple addresses without clear reasons, raising concerns about asset laundering.
At the time, the crypto community discovered that the hacked whale wallet was linked to Genesis Trading, a lending firm that went bankrupt in early 2023 due to its connection to the FTX collapse. Specifically, this wallet had received $37.7 million in bankruptcy compensation from Genesis in early August and had also received $127.6 million in Bitcoin from them in 2022.
However, details about the incident remained limited, as ZachXBT did not disclose the attack method or the identity of the perpetrators, citing privacy concerns. This left investors anxious, fearing a similar event could happen to them. To ease concerns, the detective stated that the culprits were not affiliated with the notorious Lazarus Group.
Now, a month later, ZachXBT has decided to reveal the identities of those behind the hack and disclose how the group successfully secured approximately $250 million based on the current Bitcoin value of around $62,000.
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The attack began with a fake Google Support phone call from the perpetrators, who then pretended to be from Gemini Support and tricked the victim into believing their account had been compromised.
The attackers convinced the victim to reset their two-factor authentication (2FA) and share their private key via the remote access software AnyDesk. Once successful, they immediately transferred $243 million from the victim's account to a series of secret wallets.
According to ZachXBT's investigation, the individuals behind the $250 million hack are a core group of four members using different aliases: Greavys (real name Malone Iam), Wiz (Veer Chetal), Box (Jeandiel Serrano), and Danny Trauma (Danish Khan). All of them reside in the United States.
Identities of the hackers. Source: ZachXBT
Most of the identities of these criminals were uncovered because they "accidentally" revealed their real names while attempting to deceive the victim.
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After successfully scamming the victim and acquiring the massive sum, the group couldn't contain their excitement, as shown in a video clip posted by ZachXBT.
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The video includes discussions about how to fairly divide the "reward" among the members. They then agreed on a plan and started laundering the money through over 15 exchanges, primarily swapping it for Bitcoin (BTC), Litecoin (LTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Monero (XMR).
Cash flow of Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, and Monero by the perpetrator group in the hacking incident. Source: ZachXBT
With the rewards successfully divided, each member of the robbery gang began living a hedonistic lifestyle. Hypothetically, if the 4,064 Bitcoin valued at $238 million were evenly split, each member would pocket approximately $60 million.
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Wiz (Veer) received the largest share of the stolen funds. His friend Light/Dark (Aakaash) assisted in laundering money through eXch and Thorswap. On-chain tracking shows that Wiz still holds assets worth around $34.5 million.
Box (Jeandiel/John) was responsible for calling the victim while posing as a Gemini support employee. His wallet still contains $18 million. An Ethereum address linked to both Box and Wiz has received over $41 million from two exchanges in recent weeks, primarily used to purchase luxury items such as cars, watches, jewelry, and designer clothing.
Greavys (Malone) bought more than 10 cars and spent between $250,000 and $500,000 per night at clubs in Los Angeles and Miami. He even gifted numerous Hermes Birkin bags (worth $10,000 to $100,000 each) to women. However, his extravagant lifestyle led to his downfall, as friends and women posted photos on social media that revealed his location. As a result, Greavys' stolen assets have dwindled to about $3.5 million.
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Danny Trauma (Danish Khan) participated in an internal Telegram chat under the name Meech, although his exact role remains unclear. Similar to Greavys, Danny's personal information was "accidentally" disclosed by an ex-girlfriend on social media.
With assistance from the blockchain investigation team @CFInvestigators and security solutions service @zeroshadow_io, along with Binance's security team, over $9 million has been frozen, and more than $500,000 has been returned after closely collaborating with the victim to investigate the case.
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As a result of the investigation, Malone Iam and Jeandiel Serrano were arrested last night in Miami and Los Angeles. ZachXBT speculates that law enforcement will continue to apprehend the remaining members of the gang due to traceable large transactions in recent weeks.
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The crypto market offers many opportunities for profit but also poses numerous risks and traps for the unwary.
A report from the Web3 bug bounty platform and security service Immunefi reveals that the cryptocurrency sector lost $572.7 million to hacks and fraud in Q2 2024, with 72 incidents recorded. The July report indicated total losses exceeding $1.19 billion this year. Of the $572.7 million, hacks accounted for 98.5% ($564.2 million) from 53 incidents, while fraud and rug pulls made up only 1.5% ($8.5 million) across 19 cases.
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