Zero-Transfer Phishing Attackers Confiscate $50,000 in Digital Currency Confiscated by DEA

Odaily Planet Daily News According to a search warrant reviewed by Forbes, in May this year, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) seized more than $500,000 in USDT from two Binance accounts, suspected of being used to transfer illegal drug proceeds. The funds were held in DEA-controlled accounts stored in wallets based on Trezor hardware. Meanwhile, a scammer noticed that the DEA was sending a test amount of $45.36 in USDT to the US Marshals Service as part of the standard process of forfeiting assets. Scammers quickly set up a cryptocurrency address that matches the first five and last four characters of their account. The scammer transferred tokens to the DEA account through the false address, making the DEA mistakenly believe that the address is the address of the bailiff. The DEA sent over 55,000 USDT to scammers in one transaction. When the bailiff noticed what happened and notified the DEA, the DEA contacted the USDT operator to freeze the fake account, but Tether officials said that the money had been transferred for consumption. (Forbes)