According to a new investigation by crypto detective ZachXBT, scammer Ronald Spektor posed as Coinbase support as part of a phishing operation. In October alone, Spektor stole at least $6.5 million.
However, more than half of the funds from this heist remain untraceable, as do his accomplices and other victims.
Scammer posing as Coinbase
A new investigation by crypto sleuth ZachXBT has uncovered a massive phishing operation that stole at least $6.5 million last month. Scammer Ronald Spektor posed as Coinbase support to lure victims. One victim notified ZachXBT after losing a massive sum of money, prompting an on-chain investigation.
While crypto thefts are decreasing overall, sophisticated phishing scams are becoming increasingly complex. Spektor’s methods fall into this category.
Multiple data breaches have publicly exposed Ronald’s information… which links to other breaches containing his alleged full name. Unfortunately, this case does not have a happy ending. It remains unclear who Ronald’s accomplices were… as Ledger screenshots only show $3.1 million of the $6.5 million that was stolen, ZachXBT claims.
As part of his strategy, the scammer deleted several social media accounts, which were a valuable source of incriminating evidence. Scammers have been abandoning the TON ecosystem en masse, but Spektor was an active Telegram user. The address connected to his profile was used to launder assets. However, his Telegram and X (formerly Twitter) accounts are now deactivated.
A wallet associated with phishing, posted in Spektor's Telegram bio. Source: ZachXBT
Additionally, the scammer used his wallet to process multiple transactions on Coinbase, indicating an undetermined number of other victims. ZachXBT has not posted any information about his leads regarding the unaccounted money or the accomplices who are still at large.
However, the investigation being made public could lead to new information. Earlier this month, the CEO and the entire top OpSec team resigned after an investigation by the detective found a number of questionable activities by the company’s owner that corroborated the employees’ own suspicions. The team spoke out weeks after Zach made his findings public.
The article Scammer steals $6.5 million by posing as Coinbase support appeared first on BeInCrypto Brazil.