Scammer Loses $4.8 Million After 60 BTC Stolen from Tampered Ledger Devices
Current overview (not historical)
A blockchain‑monitoring firm reported that a scammer lost 60 Bitcoin—worth roughly $4.8 million—when the coins were transferred from three newly purchased Ledger hardware wallets that had been compromised with spyware designed to record seed phrases. Ledger’s latest model, which claims to detect tampering when the device is offline, was found to have been altered before shipment. The incident highlights the growing threat of hardware wallet tampering and the importance of verifying device integrity before use. In a related regulatory move, South Korean authorities have restricted 27 non‑lawful virtual assets, underscoring a broader push to tighten oversight of crypto‑related risks.
Written with AI from the reporting · updated 10/16/2026
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- 1Unclassified fact stationOct 16, 07:49single sourcereport-time onlyrevised
Scammer loses $4.8M on tampered Ledger
Read original source ↗ CointelegraphReplay this moment in the explorerEvidence & revisions · 1 source records
- Subject：
- scammer
- Action：
- lost funds
- Object：
- 60 Bitcoin from three tampered Ledgers
- Occurred (fact side)：
- not recorded
- Published (valid side)：
- Oct 16, 06:42
- First seen (known side)：
- Oct 16, 07:49
Fact stationSingle source · one-sided claimRevisedReport-time onlyCopy may have been revised later; time replay is bounded. Layer labels group reading only, not causation between layers.
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- CointelegraphRelated fact: single sourceFact occurrence time unverifiedSource report revisedScammer Loses $4.8M from Tampered Ledgers in Asia Supply Chain Attack
Report first recorded Oct 16, 07:49
A scammer lost 60 Bitcoin, valued at about $4.8 million, from three newly purchased Ledgers containing spyware that records seed phrases, according to Chainalysis. This incident is part of a larger supply chain attack where thieves stole over $103.4 million from 530 addresses via tampered Ledgers in South East Asia, forcing Ledger to suspend its reseller network in countries including Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Hong Kong. Ledger has since launched the Atom device, claiming it includes protections to block the implants used in the Asian thefts and can detect tampering even when switched off. Separately, South Korean authorities approved measures to block domestic access to 27 unregistered crypto exchanges and virtual asset service providers, including KuCoin, MEXC, Phemex, and Bitrue.
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