Hacker returns $47 million in ETH to scam victim

A victim who lost $71 million in Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) on May 3 is receiving the money back from the exploiter, as reported by X user Lookonchain. For the past six hours, the victim has been receiving Ether (ETH) transactions from different addresses, amounting to over 16,071 ETH, equivalent to over $47 million.

An exploiter drained 1,155 WBTC from the victim through a poisoned address scam, consisting of mimicking a legitimate wallet to trick users into sending funds, as reported by Crypto Briefing. Joe Green, head of CertiK’s Quick Response Team, explained the scam was made possible after the victim sent 0,05 ETH to the intended address.

Transactions from the hacker to the victim’s address. Image: Etherscan

The exploiter then noticed the transaction and replicated it to an address he created with the same starting and ending digits. After receiving 1,155 WBTC, the exploiter started moving the funds to different wallets and converted the funds to Wrapped Ether (WETH).

The reason behind the refund is still unclear. A few users commented on Lookonchain’s post suggesting that this might be a tax evasion move, as the victim and the exploiter might be the same person.