- Singaporean man charged in a $230M crypto scam, stealing 4,100 bitcoins using social engineering tactics.
- Lam and Serrano tricked the victim by posing as Google support and gained access to the victim’s cryptocurrency accounts.
- Lavish spending included $500K nightclub bills and luxury cars; many stolen assets remain unaccounted for by authorities.
A Singaporean man, Malone Lam, has been charged in the United States in relation to what is being said as one of the largest cryptocurrency thefts ever committed against an individual in the country.. Lam is charged with hacking into the account of a high net worth investor and stealing over 4,100 Bitcoins, worth $230m. Jeandiel Serrano, his co-conspirator, both federalized social engineering tactics to steal and launder the funds from the targets.
According to a recent report, Lam and Serrano hatched the plan and the victim was deceived by impersonating as Google representatives. They first tricked the victim’s Google account and sent fake security notifications saying that there had been attempts to sign into the account. This way, Lam and Serrano managed to persuade the victim that his cryptocurrency wallets were hacked as well, and he was forced to send around $3 million to the wallet owned by the fraudsters.
Source: Court documents
Crypto Scam Exploits Access
Later, Lam and Serrano convinced the victim to install a remote desktop connection program to enhance security. This software enabled the criminals to penetrate the victim’s computer in real time hence they seized the remaining 4,100 bitcoins.
Lam and Serrano squandered the money on expensive cars and planes, and rented big houses and apartments. His spending spree took him to the night clubs in Los Angeles where he is believed to have spent as much as $500, 000 in a single night. He also purchased 31 high-end cars some of which are customized Lamorghinis and Ferraris some of which are still unaccounted for.
Suspects Tracked and Arrested
Lam and Serrano’s identities could be easily tracked by the authorities to their Telegram and Discord handles where they planned on how to control their victim. Serrano was arrested in September 2024 at the Los Angeles International Airport when he landed from a vacation in Maldives. Lam was detained on the same day in Miami, when the police confiscated nine luxury cars and several watches from his houses.
Lam is alleged to have masterminded one of the biggest crypto heists and is facing two charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering that are both punishable by up to 20 years in prison. The two suspects are still in custody as the investigation goes on and they are still to face more charges. Since, many of the stolen assets have not been recovered, the authorities are trying to get back the missing money and unveil more frauds related to the case.