Elderly American Loses $330M in Bitcoin to Social Engineering Attack, Monero Price Spikes 50%

Blockchain investigator ZachXBT has uncovered a significant theft of $330 million in Bitcoin (BTC) from an elderly American citizen. The incident, which occurred over the weekend, involved a sophisticated social engineering attack that manipulated the victim into handing over access to their wallet. The stolen funds, amounting to 3,520 BTC, were subsequently routed through at least six centralized exchanges before being converted into Monero (XMR), a privacy-focused cryptocurrency known for its ability to obscure transaction trails.

The conversion of Bitcoin to Monero caused a 50% spike in Monero’s price due to the thin liquidity and high volume of the transaction. This incident marks one of the largest known crypto thefts from an individual and highlights the growing threat of social engineering attacks in the cryptocurrency space. Unlike technical exploits, these attacks rely on deception and manipulation to obtain private keys or recovery phrases, often through phishing emails, fake support channels, or impersonation.

ZachXBT noted that the stolen Bitcoin originated from "interesting sources," suggesting that the funds may have been held for years or acquired through early, less-documented transactions. This theft eclipsed all other crypto losses reported this month, bringing the total losses for April to over $420 million. Before ZachXBT’s disclosure, blockchain security firm Immunefi had recorded $92.5 million in losses from various exploits and scams. The laundering process, which spanned multiple exchanges, has raised fresh questions about industry compliance gaps and the need for stronger user protection and exchange oversight.

US regulators have been pressuring trading platforms to strengthen Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) procedures. However, high-profile cases like this suggest that enforcement remains inconsistent. So far, no US law enforcement agencies have publicly acknowledged an investigation into the incident. However, the use of regulated exchanges and the scale of the crime are likely to trigger federal attention. ZachXBT continues to monitor the flow of funds and has called on platforms to identify any accounts involved in the laundering process.