Discord scammers stole $170 000 from a user

Key points:

• Artist Princess Hypio lost $170 000 due to a Discord “Try my game” scam.
• Hackers steal funds through malicious links, posing as friends.
• Kraken and Halborn experts warn that the main vulnerability of cryptocurrencies is trust.

Most users first learned about the “Try my game” scheme after artist and crypto trader Princess Hypio revealed that she had lost $170 000 in cryptocurrency and NFTs. According to her, a hacker infiltrated the Discord community, gained trust, and then offered to install the game via Steam.

The game itself was safe, but the server on which it was hosted contained malware. This gave the attackers access to the victim’s device and connected crypto wallets. According to Hypio, three of her friends suffered the same fate.

Source: x.com

The attackers’ tactics

In her post on X Princess, Hypio explained in detail how the scammers operated.

Hackers join Discord groups and spend weeks observing conversations, gathering information about local jokes and friends so they can appear to be genuine acquaintances. Once trust is established, the attackers find NFT owners — for example, the Milady collection — and start taking an interest in their assets.

They then introduce themselves as “friends of friends” and invite them to play an online game, sometimes even offering to buy it on Steam. At first glance, the game itself is safe, but the real Trojan is hidden on the server where the victim is invited.

The moment a person is absorbed in the game, hackers gain full access to the device, stealing cryptocurrency and personal data, and clearing the victim’s Discord account of contacts and messages.

“We just wanted to be kind to newcomers, so it was the good of our own hearts that was taken advantage of. I would not wish this on even my worst enemies,” wrote Princess Hypio.

The global picture of fraud

Trust-based schemes in Web3 are part of a broader picture of crypto fraud.

Earlier, GetBlock AML Research reported on the activities of so-called “pig butchering gangs.” These groups fraudulently lured victims into “romantic” and “investment” schemes, laundering millions of dollars through cryptocurrency. In one operation alone, $47 million was frozen, and in 2023, another $225 million in stablecoins linked to human trafficking in Southeast Asia.

“Pig butchering”: another $47 million belonging to scammers has been frozen

A scheme for laundering criminal proceeds obtained by fraudsters through a sophisticated scam has been uncovered

Read more

In another investigation, the US imposed sanctions on a Russian who helped North Korean IT specialists launder cryptocurrency and transfer proceeds to the DPRK authorities. This scheme was also based on trust: IT specialists used fake identities to get remote jobs at Western IT companies and withdrew profits through crypto networks.