More than $400 million in cryptocurrency has been stolen over the past 18 months by hackers linked to North Korea. They relied on fake video calls and artificial intelligence to carry out the scam.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) identifies the scheme as “FaceStealer”. It primarily targeted people working in cryptocurrency and Web3, as well as open-source software developers.
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Invitations to online meetings were sent from compromised accounts, with attackers posing as people the victims knew. To appear credible during video calls, they played earlier recordings and AI-generated videos.
After gaining their trust, the hackers claimed there was a technical problem and instructed victims to open a link, supposedly to fix it. Clicking the link installed malware on their devices, allowing the attackers to steal cryptocurrency and take control of their accounts.
US authorities say not all the thefts happened immediately: in some cases, cryptocurrency was stolen several months after the devices were first compromised, and in others, more than a year later. The FBI has seized more than 900 videos recorded through victims’ cameras. Meanwhile, the US Department of Justice has announced that it has dismantled the digital infrastructure used in the scheme.
In their warning, US authorities stress that the North Korean regime uses cryptocurrency theft as one of its sources of funding for illegal activities.
