In one of the largest social engineering attacks ever recorded in the crypto sector, a crypto user lost over $282 million worth of Bitcoin and Litecoin.
According to blockchain investigator ZackXBT, the theft occurred on January 10, 2026 around 11pm UTC, when the victim was tricked into revealing his token phrase attached to a hardware wallet. The attacker gained complete control of the wallet and moved the funds rapidly across multiple networks to obfuscate the trail.
According to ZackXBT, 2.05 million Litecoin (LTC), which is currently worth $3,153 million, and 1,459 Bitcoin (BTC), which is now worth about $139 million, have dried up. The attacker immediately began converting the stolen assets into Monero (XMR) through a number of instant exchange services, which also led to a rapid increase in the price of XMR.
In parallel, large chunks of Bitcoin were flipped across Ethereum (ETH), Ripple (XRP) and Litecoin using ThorChain, allowing an attacker to transfer value between blockchains without relying on a central exchange. This activity spurred debate on how cross-chain infrastructure could be decentralized during mass thefts.
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st 700K stolen funds frozen
In a Friday post on LinkedIn, security firm ZeroShadow said it was able to track and flag portions of stolen flows in real time after being alerted by blockchain monitoring teams. Within about 20 minutes, approximately $700,000 worth of funds were reportedly frozen before they could be fully converted into confidential assets.
ZeroShadow claims to have identified the victim as a Bitcoin address.
ZachXBT also rejected claims that the attack could be linked to a state-sponsored hacking group. “This is not North Korea,” he wrote.
Related: The Hidden Threat of Public Wi-Fi: How a Single Approval Wiped Out Crypto Wallets
Elderly American bitcoin holder loses $330 million
Last year, an elderly American man was allegedly the victim of a $330 million bitcoin theft in another massive social engineering scam. According to blockchain data, the victim had held more than 3,000 BTC since 2017.
After transferring the funds, the attacker quickly laundered the bitcoin using shell chains and multiple instant exchanges, eventually converting most of the stolen BTC into Monero to obscure his trail.
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