The post $280M Vanishes in Minutes as Crypto Investor Falls for Wallet Scam appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.

Crime A single act of deception has cascaded into one of the largest crypto thefts of the year, showing once again that even offline wallets offer little protection when users are manipulated into opening the door themselves. Shortly before midnight UTC on January 10, a high-value crypto wallet suddenly sprang to life. Within hours, assets worth well over $280 million were in motion. There was no protocol exploit, no zero-day vulnerability, and no software failure. Instead, the loss stemmed from a carefully executed social engineering scheme that convinced the wallet owner to unknowingly hand over access. Key Takeaways A single social engineering scam led to more than $280 million in crypto losses without any technical exploit. The attacker rapidly laundered funds using instant swaps, privacy coins, and cross-chain protocols. Heavy conversions into Monero coincided with a sharp price spike and increased market volatility.  The suspicious activity was first flagged by on-chain investigator ZachXBT, who followed the transaction trail as it splintered across multiple blockchains almost immediately after the breach. Drained in minutes, scattered in hours Blockchain data shows the compromised wallet held enormous balances, including a massive Litecoin position and a four-figure amount of Bitcoin. Once access was gained, the attacker acted with urgency, moving the funds through instant swap services and bridges designed for speed rather than transparency. Instead of parking the assets, the perpetrator focused on conversion and fragmentation. Large portions of both Bitcoin and Litecoin were exchanged rapidly, reducing the chance of freezing or interception. Privacy coins take center stage One of the most visible market effects appeared in Monero. A sizable share of the stolen value was funneled into the privacy-focused cryptocurrency, a move that coincided with a sharp surge in market activity. Over the following days, Monero’s price jumped by roughly 70%, accompanied by heavy…

---

Filed under: News - @ January 17, 2026 7:11 pm