A crypto security firm says that a phisher who stole $24.2 million worth of staked Ethereum (ETH) is actively moving their stolen assets onto the crypto mixer Tornado Cash.
The blockchain security platform PeckShield says the stolen trove of crypto consisted of Lido Staked Ether (stETH) and Rocket Pool ETH (rETH), both liquid staking tokens.
PeckShield notes the phisher first sent 701 ETH worth approximately $1.15 million to Tornado Cash. They then swapped 28,000 of the stablecoin DAI for 17.3 ETH and transferred 1,100 ETH worth approximately $1.78 million to Tornado Cash.
Later, the phisher transferred 2,000 ETH worth approximately $3.1 million to a new address, of which 600 ETH worth around $968,000 was sent to Tornado Cash.
Phishing attacks are a type of social engineering that often involve attempts to deceive victims via fraudulent messages that pretend to be sent from a trusted source. Ransomware attacks often rely on phishing emails to spread.
The U.S. Treasury Department blacklisted Tornado Cash in August 2022 because the crypto mixer was deemed a security threat, partially because it reportedly may have aided illicit groups like North Korean hackers Lazarus in laundering stolen funds.
Last month, a US court denied a challenge to the sanctions brought by six Tornado Cash users, upholding the ban on the Ethereum-based crypto mixer.
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