2026-01-17 03:32:02

On-chain data tracking platform monitoring has discovered that in mid-January, a user fell victim to a hardware wallet social engineering scam, losing up to $282 million. The stolen assets include 2.05 million LTC and 1,459 BTC.

In terms of fund flow, the attacker's methods are quite professional. They quickly exchanged the stolen LTC and BTC on multiple exchanges for Monero (XMR), which directly drove up the XMR price. Meanwhile, some of the stolen BTC were transferred across chains to the Ethereum, Ripple, and Litecoin networks, further increasing the difficulty of tracking the funds.

Based on on-chain address analysis, the stolen assets originate from multiple wallet addresses such as bc1ql...tf86, bc1qp...0wzm, and ltc1q...nr70.

This incident once again reminds users: even when using hardware wallets, social engineering scams remain the biggest threat. Attackers use precise social tactics to obtain private keys or recovery phrases, rendering the offline advantage of hardware wallets ineffective in an instant.

LTC1,65%

BTC0,28%

ETH1,03%

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TradingNightmare

· 14h ago

282 million gone, how much does this guy trust that "technical support"? Hardware wallets can't save you either; social engineering is the ultimate breach. This technique is really professional—pumping XMR, and it's another perfect money laundering show. Private keys, no matter how secure the hardware, can't withstand a single mouth. Fortunately, I don't have that much coin, or I would also become a nightmare.

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AirdropCollector

· 14h ago

282 million USD, hardware wallets can't stop social engineering... This guy probably received some kind of magical call.

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AirdropHunterWang

· 14h ago

Oh my god, 282 million just disappeared like that, hardware wallets can't save it either. Social engineering is really insidious, unstoppable. This guy probably regrets it to the point of tears now.

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ImpermanentPhilosopher

· 15h ago

$282 million... This guy is really incredible, hardware wallets can't even prevent social engineering Hardware wallets are just psychological comfort; the key is human nature This operation makes me cringe, directly transferred to XMR, very professional Oh my gosh, just one social engineering call can take away half of the target Hmm, why does this technique feel so familiar... my friend has also encountered it Preventing social engineering is a hundred times harder than preventing hackers, honestly No matter how cold the wallet is, it can't compare to human nature Thinking about it still gives me chills; I could have vomited three liters of blood Cross-chain transfers are truly a savior for scammers The day hardware wallet faith collapses

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ContractHunter

· 15h ago

Social engineering is really the biggest challenge, even hardware wallets can't stop it... How many times must someone be fooled to lose 282 million dollars? The attacker swapping to XMR was really ruthless, directly laundering the funds. Isn't this just a repeat of the lesson that no matter how secure a wallet is, it can't withstand a social engineering call? 282 million USD, I calculated how many ETH that is... crazy. Now I don't even dare to buy hardware wallets anymore; it seems that key management is the biggest black hole. This guy has definitely given everyone a lesson... paid the tuition fee. XMR suddenly surged, and the attacker also took the opportunity to profit from speculators haha. Cross-chain flow really can't be tracked; swapping Monero is like it disappears on the chain. I just want to know what kind of calls this guy usually receives... Over 200 million just gone like that, hardware wallets are really just a comfort tool.

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