Key Takeaways:
- A Bitcoin investor lost $91M (783 BTC) in a social engineering scam involving impostors posing as hardware wallet and exchange support.
- The stolen funds were laundered through Wasabi Wallet, with no links to North Korea’s Lazarus Group.
- Over $2.1B in crypto has been stolen in 2025 so far, highlighting the persistent threat of phishing and wallet scams.
A Bitcoin investor has lost 783 BTC, valued at around $91 million, in one of the largest social engineering scams of 2025.
Blockchain investigator ZachXBT revealed the theft, explaining that the victim was deceived by impostors posing as hardware wallet and crypto exchange support staff.
On Aug 19, 2025 a victim fell for a social engineering scam and lost 783 BTC ($91M) after exchange and hardware wallet customer support were impersonated.
— ZachXBT (@zachxbt) August 21, 2025
The stolen funds began to peel off and deposits to Wasabi were made by the threat actor.
Coincidentally this theft… pic.twitter.com/gglShNo2UC
The funds were drained in a single transaction on Tuesday at 11:06 am UTC, then routed through Wasabi Wallet the following day in an attempt to mask their origin.
While the attackers remain unidentified, ZachXBT ruled out involvement from North Korea’s Lazarus Group.
Instead, the stolen assets were initially moved to a clean address before being laundered.
The incident highlights a growing trend of scammers impersonating trusted wallet providers like Ledger and Trezor.
In April, fake letters urged users to surrender recovery phrases, while other scams this year have already claimed hundreds of millions.
According to CertiK, more than $2.1 billion has been lost to crypto exploits in just the first five months of 2025, with social engineering and phishing remaining dominant threats.
ZachXBT cautioned users to treat all unsolicited communications as scams by default.
About The Author
Adam Morris, the co-founder of Crypto Head and a respected crypto expert, offers insightful commentary and analysis on cryptocurrency, NFTs, and the evolving digital landscape.
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