In Kyiv, cyber experts from the Security Service of Ukraine and the National Police have dismantled a large-scale fraudulent scheme in which a group of IT professionals stole funds from the cryptocurrency wallets of citizens of the European Union. According to investigators, the monthly turnover of the transaction reached $1 million.
In Kyiv, cyber experts from the Security Service of Ukraine and the National Police have dismantled a large-scale fraudulent scheme in which a group of IT professionals stole funds from the cryptocurrency wallets of citizens of the European Union. According to investigators, the monthly turnover of the transaction reached $1 million.
This was reported by the press service of the SBU.
The scheme was organized by a 25-year-old IT specialist from Kyiv, who recruited other IT professionals from the capital to participate in the criminal activity. The criminals, posing as representatives of cryptocurrency platforms, offered clients profitable investments in digital assets, distributing advertisements about «profitable» projects in popular Telegram channels.
To convince the victims, the scammers showed fictitious trading results and examples of imaginary profits. After that, the victims were sent a link to a fake site that imitated a legitimate cryptocurrency service. A special malicious code, a drainer, was embedded in the web resource. When the user connected their wallet and confirmed the transaction, the drainer gained access to the account and debited all digital assets to the attackers’ online addresses.
During 23 searches of the offices and homes of the suspects, law enforcement officers seized computer equipment, mobile phones, cash, as well as 16 premium cars, including Porsche, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz. The issue of reporting the suspects to the police is currently being resolved. They face up to 12 years in prison with confiscation of property.
Drainer schemes are one of the most common methods of stealing crypto assets. Such tools force users to sign a malicious smart contract, which allows attackers to instantly empty wallets without additional confirmation.
