User loses $282M in one of the largest social engineering crypto heists

A crypto user has lost more than $282 million worth of Bitcoin and Litecoin in one of the largest social engineering attacks ever recorded in the crypto sector.

The theft occurred on Jan. 10, 2026, at around 11:00 pm UTC, after the victim was tricked into revealing their seed phrase linked to a hardware wallet, according to blockchain investigator ZachXBT. The attacker gained full control of the wallet and rapidly moved the funds across multiple networks to obscure the trail.

According to ZachXBT, 2.05 million Litecoin (LTC), currently worth $153 million, and 1,459 Bitcoin ($BTC), now worth around $139 million, were drained. The attacker immediately began converting the stolen assets into Monero ($XMR) through several instant exchange services, triggering a sharp spike in $XMR’s price as well.

In parallel, large portions of the Bitcoin were bridged across Ethereum (ETH), Ripple (XRP) and Litecoin using THORChain, a move that allowed the attacker to shift value between blockchains without relying on centralized exchanges. The activity reignited debate around how decentralized cross-chain infrastructure can be abused during large-scale thefts.

Users slam THORchain for allowing hacker to shift funds. Source: Quit

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$700K of stolen funds frozen

In a Friday post on LinkedIn, security firm ZeroShadow said it was able to trace and flag parts of the stolen flow in real time after being alerted by blockchain monitoring teams. Within roughly 20 minutes, about $700,000 worth of funds were reportedly frozen before they could be fully swapped into privacy-focused assets.

ZeroShadow claimed it identified the victim as a Bitcoin address “belonging to an individual who had been tricked into sharing their seed phrase by an actor impersonating Trezor “Value Wallet” support.”

ZachXBT also rejected claims that the attack might be linked to a state-sponsored hacking group. “It’s not North Korea,” he wrote.

Related: The hidden risk of public WiFi: How a single approval wiped a crypto wallet

Elderly US Bitcoin holder loses $330 million

Last year, an elderly US individual reportedly fell victim to a $330 million Bitcoin theft in another major social engineering scam. The victim had held more than 3,000 $BTC since 2017 with little prior activity, according to blockchain data.

After the funds were moved, the attacker rapidly laundered the Bitcoin using peel chains and multiple instant exchanges, ultimately swapping much of the stolen $BTC into Monero to obscure its trail.

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