Elderly American Falls Victim to $330.7M Bitcoin Heist: One of the Biggest Crypto Heists Ever!

Holy smokes! An elderly American just got hit with a massive $330.7 million Bitcoin theft—one of the largest crypto heists on record—according to blockchain sleuth ZachXBT. Talk about a nightmare!

This wild attack went down on April 28, and it involved swiping 3,520 BTC through a slick social engineering scheme. It caused total chaos across crypto markets, even sending the price of the privacy coin Monero (XMR) through the roof!

The stolen Bitcoin was juggled through more than 300 wallets and laundered across 20 or more exchanges, with Monero being the mastermind behind hiding the transaction. Sneaky!

The sudden demand for XMR during this laundering frenzy sent its price soaring over 50%—from $228 to $347—before cooling off at $295. What a rollercoaster!

Update: Confirmed, this was a social engineering theft from an unsuspecting elderly individual right here in the US. Brutal.

At first, folks thought the price surge might be due to some fancy upgrades or a new love for privacy coins, but ZachXBT's deep dive suggests it was all about moving those stolen funds. Crazy, right?

Targeted Attack

ZachXBT spilled the beans on X, saying the funds weren't nabbed by some notorious hacking group like those North Korean troublemakers. Nope, this was a targeted hit on an individual with a hefty Bitcoin stash.

"You can fingerprint the type of attack/attacker pretty well if you spend all of your time tracking illicit activity onchain," ZachXBT said, pointing out that this theft screamed 'highly coordinated social engineering operation.' Wow, these scammers are getting crafty!

This case now sits at number five on the list of the biggest crypto hacks ever, shining a spotlight on how vulnerable long-time crypto holders are to these slick scams. Law enforcement hasn't stepped in yet, and the attacker's identity? Still a mystery. Stay tuned, folks—this story's far from over!