Hacker swipes $282 million in cryptocurrency through social engineering targeting hardware wallets

Massive Crypto Theft Linked to Social Engineering Attack

According to a blockchain analyst, a cybercriminal managed to steal approximately $282 million in litecoin (LTC) and bitcoin (BTC) by exploiting a hardware wallet through social engineering tactics.

The attacker made off with 2.05 million LTC and 1,459 BTC, quickly converting the stolen funds into monero (XMR) using several instant exchange platforms to obscure their trail.

The analyst also reported that some of the stolen bitcoin was transferred to Ethereum, Ripple, and Litecoin networks via Thorchain. He clarified that North Korean hacking groups were not behind this incident.

The breach took place on January 10 at 23:00 UTC, and was followed by a 70% surge in XMR’s value over the next four days.

It is still uncertain whether the victim was an individual investor or an organization. This event is part of a growing trend in 2025, where social engineering has become the primary method hackers use to target crypto assets. These attacks often involve impersonating company staff to gain the victim’s trust and convince them to hand over confidential information, such as private keys or login credentials.

Just days earlier, on January 5, hardware wallet manufacturer Ledger experienced a security breach that exposed personal data, including names and contact details, of its users due to unauthorized access.