Bitcoiner loses $91M in social engineering scam

A Bitcoiner lost $91M after scammers posing as wallet support stole 783 BTC. Experts warn that social engineering attacks remain the biggest crypto threat.

Hackers posed as hardware wallet support

A Bitcoin holder fell victim to a sophisticated social engineering scam, losing 783 BTC worth $91 million. Blockchain investigator ZachXBT reported that the theft occurred on Tuesday at 11:06 am UTC.

The attackers impersonated crypto exchange and wallet support staff. The stolen funds were first sent to a clean Bitcoin address and then laundered through the privacy tool Wasabi Wallet to hide the trail.

Social engineering attacks exploit human error. Victims are tricked into revealing private keys or passwords, giving criminals full access to their funds.

Scammers impersonating Ledger and Trezor

According to ZachXBT, criminals frequently impersonate major wallet providers like Ledger and Trezor. In April, fake Ledger emails demanded recovery phrases under the pretext of a “critical update.”

In the same month, an elderly US citizen lost over $330 million worth of Bitcoin in another social engineering scam, shocking the crypto industry.

CertiK, a blockchain security firm, reported that over $2.1 billion was stolen in the first five months of 2025, mostly from phishing and wallet compromises. The largest case was the $1.4 billion Bybit exchange hack in February.

How to stay safe from social engineering

Experts recommend treating every email or call as suspicious by default. Never share recovery phrases, and always verify information through official channels.

As ZachXBT noted, social engineering remains one of the most dangerous threats in crypto security.