In a groundbreaking revelation, the prominent blockchain investigator, ZachXBT successfully identified a malefactor perpetuating cryptocurrency fraud, resulting in millions of dollars in digital assets being swindled. This exploit was accomplished through a series of intricate phishing assaults.
Soup Used An Intricate Scam Targeting DeFi Projects
The miscreant primarily targeted DeFi initiatives like Orbiter Finance and Pika Protocol, exploiting their discord services. On a recent Monday, via a Twitter thread, ZachXBT shed light on the modus operandi of the assailant, ‘Soup’ (also known as Dan). Soup cunningly impersonated Luke Hamilton, an employee of the reputable cryptocurrency news platform, Decrypt.
Collaborating with other fraudsters, Soup tricked members from various cryptocurrency project teams into joining a counterfeit Decrypt Discord server. Through a fabricated application and interview procedure, Soup successfully duped his victims into revealing their KYC information.
This data was then used to launch a complex phishing attack, with the sole objective of stealing their Discord token – an alphanumeric code that functions as the user’s login credentials.
The Soup Aftermath: A Trail of Financial Ruin
Soup breached the Pika Protocol Discord server on May 30, 2023. By posting a malevolent link on the announcement channel, Soup successfully siphoned off $220,000 in cryptocurrency. Dan later confessed privately to obtaining a 15% share of the illicit earnings.
The subsequent day witnessed another audacious assault on Orbiter Finance, leading to a loss of an additional $760,000 through a similar method. Soup unabashedly admitted to receiving 30% of these stolen funds. Notably, one of his known addresses was traced to have 7.5 ETH.
Soup squandered some of his illegitimate earnings on exclusive, high-ticket Roblox items. His criminal activities extended beyond financial frauds into the realm of NFTs.
The Unforgivable Heist: Stolen NFTs
ZachXBT highlighted Soup’s involvement in last year’s Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC NFT #21080) theft. In a joint venture with his accomplice, Faint, they forged a counterfeit MAYC and exchanged it for a genuine one, hoodwinking the unsuspecting victim. Soup was also implicated in the theft of Cryptopunk #6983 earlier this year.
“Soup confessed to amassing a personal fortune of $1 million, while his co-conspirators profited even more. His lack of regret is evident, even after causing substantial financial damage to multiple projects and individuals,” ZachXBT shared.
A Chain of Scammers Revealed
The investigator managed to locate one of Soup’s addresses after the fraudster inadvertently exposed it while attempting to prove that the ENS address, purplelobster.eth, was under the control of Blue – yet another scammer exposed by ZachXBT. At that time, Blue had transferred Soup $25 worth of ETH.
Blue, previously a YouTuber and now an NFT scammer, had ties with Monkey Drainer, notorious for stealing over $24 million in digital collectibles. Not one to shy away from his crimes, Monkey Drainer even bragged about his illicit achievements online. In some of his most recent phishing offensives, Blue extracted over $200,000 in crypto and NFTs from addresses yancy.eth and LoveMake.eth.
Scammers continue to note success in the crypto sphere. Unfortunately, there isn’t much recourse, yet users are advised to never interact with unknown entities or web URLs.
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