An American retiree says more than $3 million in XRP vanished after he checked Ellipal’s mobile app on Oct. 15 and saw his balance gone, a discovery that spurred an on-chain tracing effort by pseudonymous analyst ZackXBT. CoinDesk has not independently verified the investor’s identity, balances, or the complete on-chain path. The account comes from several YouTube videos posted since Oct. 15, Ellipal’s public statement on Oct. 18, and ZackXBT’s Oct. 19 X thread. What the victim says happened The investor, who identified himself as Brandon, said he lives in North Carolina, is 54, and that his wife, 60, is also retired.

An American retiree says more than $3 million in XRP vanished after he checked Ellipal’s mobile app on Oct. 15 and saw his balance gone, a discovery that spurred an on-chain tracing effort by pseudonymous analyst ZackXBT. CoinDesk has not independently verified the investor’s identity, balances, or the complete on-chain path. The account comes from several YouTube videos posted since Oct.

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Hackers and threat actors continue to infiltrate companies, blockchain projects and Web3 firms by exploiting remote work arrangements.

Cyberpunks posing as legitimate infotech (IT) employees who have actually penetrated Internet 3 projects have swiped about $ 1 million in crypto during the past week, according to onchain investigator and cybersecurity expert ZackXBT. Several entities were influenced including Favrr, a Web 3 fan-token marketplace, non-fungible token (NFT) tasks Replicandy and ChainSaw, in addition to various other groups the onchain sleuth did not name in his Friday X blog post.

Hackers posing as information technology workers compromised several Web3 and NFT projects this week, stealing approximately $1 million in crypto.

Hackers posing as information technology workers compromised several Web3 and NFT projects this week, stealing approximately $1 million in crypto.

Hackers posing as information technology workers compromised several Web3 and NFT projects this week, stealing approximately $1 million in crypto.

According to blockchain investigator ZackxBT, the North Korean Lazarus Group is linked to a cyber attack that stole over $5.2 million on May 24th on May 24th. Theft occurred through sophisticated malware attacks, where funds were sucked up from several wallet types, including multisigs, externally owned accounts (EOAS), and exchange wallets. Incident revealed in Zackxbt's telegram channel On Tuesday, the group hinted that it could be shifting its focus from wealthy individuals and businesses to individual traders in the daytime.

ZackXBT, a security analyst, has identified an additional $45 million stolen from Coinbase users through social engineering scams in the last week. This brings the estimated annual losses to $330 million, a figure unique to Coinbase compared to other major exchanges. These scams involve sophisticated tactics targeting Coinbase users to steal their funds. In July, scammers impersonated Coinbase support to steal $1.7 million from a single user. The FBI has issued warnings about social engineering scams, including those posing as exchange staff or offering fake employment opportunities. These scams often involve malicious software disguised as legitimate downloads, potentially linked to North Korean hacking groups. Recently, scam emails imitating crypto exchanges have also emerged, prompting users to withdraw their funds. The increasing complexity of these scams has led Coinbase's chief security officer to advocate for a unified framework for scam reporting. These attacks highlight the vulnerability of crypto users to social engineering. The text emphasizes the need for improved security measures and user awareness. The article raises concerns about the current security landscape of crypto exchanges.

Coinbase users continue to be the target of ever-evolving and sophisticated social engineering attacks, according to onchain detective ZackXBT.

Coinbase users continue to be the target of ever-evolving and sophisticated social engineering attacks, according to onchain detective ZackXBT.

Onchain sleuth and security analyst ZackXBT claims to have identified an additional $45 million in funds stolen from Coinbase users through social engineering scams in the past seven days alone. According to the onchain detective, the $45 million figure represents the latest financial losses in a string of social engineering scams targeting Coinbase users, which ZackXBT said is a problem unique among crypto exchanges:"Over the past few months, I have reported on nine figures stolen from Coinbase users via similar social engineering scams. Interestingly, no other major exchange has the same problem." Cointelegraph reached out to Coinbase but was unable to get a response by the time of publication.Source: ZachXBT The claims made by ZackXBT place the total amount lost by Coinbase users to social engineering scams at $330 million annually and reflect the growing number of sophisticated attack strategies employed by threat actors to defraud crypto holders. Related: $330M Bitcoin social engineering theft victim is elderly US citizen FBI issues warnings on social engineering scams targeting crypto users In July 2024, reports emerged that several Coinbase users were targeted by scammers posing as the exchange's support staff. The scammers managed to drain $1.7 million from one user. The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) issued a warning in August 2024, sounding the alarm on scammers posing as crypto exchanges in an attempt to steal user funds and sensitive user data. The FBI expanded this warning in September 2024, highlighting the use of fake employment offers from scammers targeting crypto users. According to the FBI, North Korean state-affiliated hacking groups would direct victims to download malicious software by disguising the software packages as employment tests, job applications, and information on investment opportunities. More recently, in March 2025, crypto users reported an uptick in scam emails imitating legitimate communication from crypto exchanges, directing users to withdraw their funds to external wallets. The growing variety and sophistication of social engineering scams prompted Coinbase chief security officer Phillip Martin to call for streamlining the scam reporting process by having a single, unified framework or repository for identifying and combating scams. Magazine: Real AI use cases in crypto, No. 3: Smart contract audits & cybersecurity