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Hardware-Wallet Support Scam Drains About $282 Million in Bitcoin and Litecoin

Investigators traced rapid laundering into Monero via cross-chain swaps, freezing only about $700,000.

Overview

  • On-chain analyst ZachXBT flagged the January 10 breach as 1,459 BTC and roughly 2.05 million LTC were moved within minutes.
  • The attacker reportedly impersonated Trezor support to obtain the victim’s seed phrase, enabling full wallet restoration and control.
  • Funds were fragmented through instant swap services and THORChain bridges, with large conversions into privacy-focused Monero.
  • Security firm ZeroShadow said it froze about $700,000 shortly after the theft, while most of the roughly $282 million remains unrecovered.
  • ZachXBT dismissed state-sponsored involvement, and analysts noted an unusual Monero price surge that coincided with the laundering activity.