Crypto: User Loses $282m In One Of The Largest Social Engineering Crypto...
The crypto user was reportedly deceived by an attacker impersonating Trezor support, tricked into revealing their hardware wallet seed phrase.
A crypto user has lost more than $282 million worth of Bitcoin and Litecoin in one of the largest social engineering attacks ever recorded in the crypto sector.
The theft occurred on Jan. 10, 2026, at around 11:00 pm UTC, after the victim was tricked into revealing their seed phrase linked to a hardware wallet, according to blockchain investigator ZachXBT. The attacker gained full control of the wallet and rapidly moved the funds across multiple networks to obscure the trail.
According to ZachXBT, 2.05 million Litecoin (LTC), currently worth $153 million, and 1,459 Bitcoin (BTC), now worth around $139 million, were drained. The attacker immediately began converting the stolen assets into Monero (XMR) through several instant exchange services, triggering a sharp spike in XMR’s price as well.
In parallel, large portions of the Bitcoin were bridged across Ethereum (ETH), Ripple (XRP) and Litecoin using THORChain, a move that allowed the attacker to shift value between blockchains without relying on centralized exchanges. The activity reignited debate around how decentralized cross-chain infrastructure can be abused during large-scale thefts.
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ZeroShadow claimed it identified the victim as a Bitcoin address “belonging to an individual who had been tricked into sharing their seed phrase by an actor impersonating Trezor “Value Wallet” support.”
ZachXBT also rejected claims that the attack might be linked to a state-sponsored hacking group. “It’s not North Korea,” he wrote.
Related: The hidden risk of public WiFi: How a single approval wiped a crypto wallet
Last year, an elderly US individual reportedly fell victim to a $330 million Bitcoin theft in another major social engineering scam. The victim had held more than 3,000 BTC since 2017 with little prior activity, according to blockchain data.
Source: CoinTelegraph
