A Massive Crypto Heist: How a Simple Trick Led to a $282M Loss

In a shocking turn of events, a crypto enthusiast recently lost a staggering $282 million in Bitcoin and Litecoin. This happened because of a clever trick known as social engineering. On January 10, 2026, around 11:00 pm UTC, the victim was fooled into sharing their seed phrase. This seed phrase was linked to a hardware wallet, giving the attacker full access to the funds. The attacker wasted no time. They quickly moved the stolen crypto across different networks to cover their tracks. According to blockchain investigator ZachXBT, the thief took 2. 05 million Litecoin (LTC), worth $153 million, and 1, 459 Bitcoin (BTC), worth around $139 million. The attacker then started converting these stolen assets into Monero (XMR) using instant exchange services. This sudden rush of Monero caused its price to spike. But that's not all. The thief also bridged large amounts of Bitcoin across Ethereum (ETH), Ripple (XRP), and Litecoin using THORChain. This move allowed them to shift value between blockchains without using centralized exchanges. This incident has sparked a debate about how decentralized cross-chain infrastructure can be misused in large-scale thefts.Security firm ZeroShadow stepped in and traced parts of the stolen funds in real time. They managed to freeze about $700, 000 worth of funds before they could be fully swapped into privacy-focused assets. ZeroShadow identified the victim as someone who had been tricked into sharing their seed phrase by an impersonator pretending to be Trezor “Value Wallet” support. ZachXBT also dismissed claims that the attack might be linked to a state-sponsored hacking group. “It’s not North Korea, ” he stated clearly. This isn't the first time such a heist has happened. Last year, an elderly US individual lost $330 million in Bitcoin in a similar social engineering scam. The victim had held more than 3, 000 BTC since 2017 with little prior activity. After the funds were moved, the attacker laundered the Bitcoin using peel chains and multiple instant exchanges, ultimately swapping much of the stolen BTC into Monero to obscure its trail. These incidents highlight the importance of being cautious and verifying the authenticity of any support requests. Always double-check before sharing sensitive information like seed phrases.