$282 million whale theft case investigation: hacker social engineering scams followed by cross-chain money laundering

YieldWhisperer · 2026-01-19T02:34:15+00:00

A major whale investor lost over $282 million worth of Bitcoin and Litecoin due to social engineering scams. Hackers used cross-chain bridging and mixing techniques to launder money, highlighting new security threats. Users are warned to double their security measures to prevent private key leaks.

YieldWhisperer

2026-01-19 02:34:15

Abstract generation in progress

【CoinPost】Another major case. A whale investor fell victim to social engineering scams, and their hardware wallet was directly compromised, with the asset loss reaching an astonishing scale—over $282 million combined in Litecoin and Bitcoin.

The timeline is locked at approximately 11:00 PM on January 10, 2026, UTC. On-chain data monitoring shows that the stolen funds were subsequently moved in batches by the hackers. About $63 million was transferred via a cross-chain bridge to an address starting with 0xF73, and then entered further mixing and money laundering processes.

According to the on-chain detective’s tracking results, this was not a simple one-time transfer. The hackers clearly planned the fund flow carefully, using cross-chain bridging to break single-chain traceability and increase law enforcement difficulty. This technique is becoming increasingly common in large-scale thefts—initial social engineering breaches the wallet defenses, followed by immediate cross-chain dispersal, and finally long-term concealment through mixers or scattered addresses.

For on-chain traders, this is yet another wake-up call. No matter how secure a hardware wallet is, once the private key or recovery phrase is exposed through social engineering, all cold storage becomes useless. Two-factor authentication, privacy settings, and information isolation—these basic precautions really cannot be skipped.

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LayerZeroHero

· 16h ago

282 million directly evaporated, are social engineers this aggressive? Hardware wallets are no longer safe Cross-chain transfers in one second, tracking becomes extremely difficult. This hacker is probably a professional team It's the same old mixer scheme, but this scale is truly frightening. It seems ordinary people can't defend against it at all This guy must be so careless, 280 million... I'll never earn that in my lifetime On-chain tracking is basically impossible to follow, once cross-chain bridges are used, they completely disappear. So ruthless Hardware wallets are also breached by social engineers? Then what am I supposed to use? Just stick with cold wallets That's why I never click on unfamiliar links. Social engineering is so terrifying Mixer services should have been banned long ago. Hackers rely on them for money laundering It seems that multi-hundred-million-dollar theft cases are becoming more frequent. When will they be truly resolved?

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NotFinancialAdviser

· 20h ago

Here we go again, social engineering breakthroughs hardware wallets? $282 million just gone... Ultimately, human weakness is hard to prevent. This combination of cross-chain money laundering is becoming more and more skilled; once the mixer is turned on, it directly evaporates into thin air. Hardware wallets can't save you either; the key is still that phone call or some piece of information. This guy is really impressive; daring to put $282 million in a hardware wallet... Should I admire him or be worried for him? Address 0xF73 has probably already made seven or eight transfers; law enforcement must be feeling uncomfortable too. So even if the self-custodian is super capable, social engineering is always the simplest and most deadly trick.

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YieldChaser

· 01-21 03:30

Social engineering is really getting more ruthless; even hardware wallets can be compromised? It shows that the human factor is the biggest vulnerability. --- 2.82 billion dollars are gone directly; once cross-chain is decentralized, it becomes untraceable. That’s why I still hold my cold wallet. --- It's another case of cross-chain bridge laundering. DEX aggregator platforms need to find solutions; hackers shouldn’t be able to move funds so freely. --- Pure social engineering scams breach the defense line; no matter how advanced the wallet, it’s useless. We need to think more about how to prevent such attacks. --- Mixers are truly hackers’ best friends; on-chain transparency has become a mere formality. --- This guy is so arrogant; he took 282 million dollars directly, and it all disappeared in a flash across chains. --- Hardware wallets have also been compromised? Then how can we self-custody? It seems there’s no such thing as an absolutely secure solution.

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LiquidationHunter

· 01-19 02:57

Damn, another social engineering attack? Hardware wallets have been compromised, which shows this guy's defenses are really weak. Once again, a textbook example of cross-chain money laundering. Hackers' techniques are becoming more and more sophisticated. 280 million directly evaporated—that must hurt a lot.

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OneBlockAtATime

· 01-19 02:53

It's the same old social engineering tactics... Hardware wallets can't even prevent it, which is really outrageous—2.82 billion just gone. Cross-chain money laundering is now everywhere, and with a set of mixers, it's basically impossible to trace.

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Rugman_Walking

· 01-19 02:52

It's the same old social engineering tricks again; hardware wallets can't even prevent this... The cross-chain money laundering process is indeed slick, and after using a mixer, there's basically no chance.

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NFTDreamer

· 01-19 02:48

Social engineering is truly incredible—can even break hardware wallets? 282 million directly lost, this method is becoming more professional and terrifying. --- Cross-chain transfers in a second, funds dispersed instantly, mixing services make it almost impossible to recover. --- It's another cross-chain bridge and decentralized address—hackers are turning money laundering into an art form. --- This whale too—how could they be fooled by social engineering... no matter how much money they have, it's useless. --- Watching on-chain data still flying, but the money has already vanished—it's truly helpless. --- Address 0xF73 is now definitely on the blacklist, but what's the use? --- Every time a big case like this happens, I think of that saying—your private key is your everything. --- Mixing services are really the hacker's best friend; law enforcement can't keep up no matter how strong they are.

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GasFeeCrier

· 01-19 02:47

Both social engineering and cross-chain attacks—this combo is now standard... Hardware wallets have been compromised, indicating that the defenses have long been breached. Truly outrageous.

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