Two seventeen-year-old boys from Hamilton, Canada, have been arrested and charged with theft and possession of criminally-obtained property.
Canadian Teens Arrested for Bitcoin and Ethereum Theft in Spear Phishing Attack
The teens allegedly defrauded a U.S. individual of $4.2 million in Bitcoin and Ethereum.
The Spear Phishing Attack: A Deceptive Tactic
The Canadian teens employed a tactic known as a “spear phishing” attack. This type of phishing attack targets individuals, presenting itself as a communication from a trusted source to compromise their accounts. In this instance, the teens impersonated Coinbase Support to hijack their victim’s crypto portfolio.
The Use of Stolen Funds: Purchasing a Coveted Instagram Handle
Some of the stolen funds were reportedly used to purchase the Instagram handle “@Zombie,” a username highly sought after among gamers. The teens operated under the aliases “Gaze” and “Felon.”
The Investigation: FBI and United States Secret Service Involvement
The investigation into the crypto theft was coordinated by the FBI and the United States Secret Service Electronic Crimes Task Force. At the time of the teens’ arrest, they possessed $13.4 million in cryptocurrency.
Interagency Cooperation: Tackling Crypto Crime
As crypto-related crimes proliferate, interagency cooperation initiatives have been formalized to tackle these issues. The FBI has formed a Virtual Asset Exploitation Unit to work with the Justice Department’s National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team, focusing on crypto-related crime.
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