Thieves have drained approximately $4.8 million in Bitcoin from a cryptocurrency scammer who profited from deceiving victims through a task scam scheme, according to blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis.
Chainalysis identified the scammer as one of the biggest victims in a recent series of Ledger hardware wallet thefts. The stolen funds represented proceeds from a task scam operation that worked by paying people to create fake sales and reviews of real items, then displaying a negative balance that pressured victims into adding their own money to claim promised payments.
On September 22nd, the scammer transferred the proceeds into three separate Ledger addresses. Thieves emptied all three addresses on October 9th, moving the funds in single transfers to a wallet linked to the broader theft.
Coordinated Attack on Ledger Devices
The Bitcoin theft was part of a larger coordinated operation targeting Ledger hardware wallets that resulted in approximately $90 million in stolen digital assets, according to the Financial Times.
Ledger disclosed that organized criminals spent several months purchasing genuine Ledger devices, opening them, and installing concealed components designed to capture users' recovery phrases during setup. The tampered devices were then returned to circulation through resellers in Southeast Asia.
All affected devices were sold by CryptoBilis, a Malaysia-based reseller.
Criminal Infrastructure
The attackers developed extensive technical and logistical infrastructure to support the operation, including servers to collect recovery phrases and systems to drain and launder stolen funds. The operation demonstrated significant planning and resources, with criminals executing the coordinated wallet drains in a single operation.
