Two 17-year-olds from Hamilton, Ontario, were charged after a phishing scheme stole $4.2 million in cryptocurrencies from a U.S. citizen, according to local media.
The investigation began in June 2023. According to court documents, the teenagers posed as Coinbase cryptocurrency exchange support staff and tricked the victim into transferring $4.2 million in Ethereum and Bitcoin to them.
Part of the stolen funds were used to purchase the Instagram handle @zombie.
Police say the defendants held more than $13.4 million in cryptocurrencies in total.
They were charged with theft of more than $5,000 and possession of property or proceeds derived from criminal activity.
Beosin researchers say that in the first half of 2023 the crypto industry lost about $655.6 million in hacks, scams and rug pull.
Earlier in June, the Huobi cryptocurrency exchange addressed a data breach, which reportedly exposed users’ assets since June 2021.