This 20-year-old young man carried out what can be considered the most astonishing cryptocurrency theft in history:
• Stole $230 million worth of Bitcoin
• Gave away Hermes bags worth tens of thousands of dollars to women
• Squandered huge amounts of money on private jets, Lamborghinis, and nightclub expenses reaching up to $500,000 in one night
However, a screen recording captured by a Twitter investigator ultimately led to the exposure of the entire incident.
Here is the complete account of the event: 🧵
This is Malone Lam, 20 years old, who is extremely obsessed with cryptocurrency.
He has been active online for years, keeping in touch with some quick-witted but suspicious individuals.
One day in 2024, during a chat, someone jokingly said, "Let's go scam a wealthy crypto investor."
Malone Lam didn't laugh. He replied directly, "Sure, let's do it."
From that moment on, things started to become a reality...
They began to investigate.
They identified an anonymous investor located in Washington, D.C., who owned 4,100 bitcoins (worth $230 million at the time).
This is a very low-profile person.
But the question is: how to steal such a massive amount of digital assets?
Lin Malong proposed a plan:
The entire scam process is surprisingly simple:
First, they call pretending to be Google tech support: "Sir, your account may have been compromised."
Then they make a second call, this time impersonating his cryptocurrency trading platform.
Why make two calls?
The reasons are as follows:
This is a typical "create panic - offer help" tactic.
The first call makes the victim anxious, while the second call pretends to rescue them.
Investors fall into panic, mistakenly believing they are under a hacker attack.
They calmly assist him in resetting his account.
Then they make the final request:
"Could you share your screen?"
Result:
The investor shared his screen, and as a result, the private key to his crypto wallet was exposed.
It's like handing over the keys to a vault.
In just a few seconds, Lin Malong and his accomplices transferred 4,100 bitcoins, worth approximately $230 million at the time.
At this point, Lin Malong became rich overnight...
They celebrated loudly in the group chat, and one friend even recorded the entire process:
"Oh my God! This can't be real! I can hardly control myself!"
And this recording later became important evidence...
【Original Recording】👇🏻
They distributed the Bitcoin and then transferred it to multiple wallets, attempting to obscure the flow of funds,
using a typical cryptocurrency mixing technique.
As for Malone himself? He did not choose to act discreetly.
He began to spend lavishly.
His behavior seems to completely mimic the lifestyle depicted in the movie "The Wolf of Wall Street."
Here are his next moves:
He first rented a seaside villa in Miami, with a monthly rent of $68,000.
For him, it's a small amount.
• Then came the private jet
• Next was luxury clothing
• After that, he bought about 30 luxury cars, one of which is a Lamborghini that has his name spray-painted on it.
He frequently visits nightclubs...
In the nightclub, he spends between $100,000 and $500,000 every night on
• female companions,
• showing off,
• and high-end champagne.
He tips the staff as much as $2,000.
The nightclub often lights up his name, as if a VIP has arrived.
What’s most surprising is his behavior towards luxury handbags:
Lin Malong started casually giving away Hermès Birkin bags worth about $50,000.
Are you beautiful? He directly gives away a bag.
A woman woke up to find a Birkin bag placed by her bed, and Lin Malong himself didn't even remember when he gave it away.
He seems to think that money can buy emotions.
But it turns out, it's not that simple.
One woman clearly rejected him...
Lin Malong bought a pink Lamborghini Urus for an old acquaintance and texted at 2 AM: "I have a gift for you, happy birthday in advance."
The other party replied:
"I already have a boyfriend."
Just like that, the pink Lamborghini, which cost $250,000, received no response from the other party.
Meanwhile, another person has been quietly watching for a long time:
This person is ZachXBT.
He is known as the Batman of the crypto world.
Years ago, he lost $15,000 in a scam, and since then, he has remained vigilant about crypto crime.
He now has a keen interest in tracking crypto crime and has over 860,000 followers on social media, known for his accuracy.
One day, he received an alert:
A large Bitcoin transfer appeared on the blockchain...
ZachXBT immediately launched an investigation. He tracked the flow of funds and closely monitored changes in every wallet address.
Subsequently, he discovered Lin Malong's whereabouts on social media.
• Taking a private jet
• Showing off luxury cars
• High spending at nightclubs, with a single night’s bottle service costing up to $300,000
ZachXBT thought: This person is either very smart... or completely foolish.
Then, he obtained decisive evidence.
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