$7M transferred from TRON to Ethereum linked to pig-butchering scam; $3.1M funneled through Tornado Cash for privacy.
A wallet recently bridged $7 million from multiple wallets on the TRON blockchain to Ethereum. Investigators suspect that the funds originated from a crypto investment scam known as ‘pig-butchering.
This scam often involves tricking victims into investing large sums of money over time. First, scammers trick victims into investing.
Then, they funnel the proceeds through multiple channels. Additionally, the funds pass through Tornado Cash, an Ethereum-based privacy tool, which further hides the transaction trails.
Suspicious Transfer from TRON to Ethereum Raises Red Flags
Scammers moved $7 million from several TRON wallets before transferring it to Ethereum. The transaction pattern mirrors those commonly seen in pig-butchering scams.
In these scams, scammers first manipulate victims into investing, often through social media or messaging platforms.
Over time, scammers encourage victims to send increasing amounts of funds. Then, they transfer the money across different blockchains to further hide its origin.
After scammers bridged the funds to Ethereum, they moved a significant portion to Tornado Cash. Notably, this platform breaks the connection between senders and receivers, making transactions harder to trace.
This privacy feature raises concerns, as it complicates efforts to trace the origins of potentially illicit funds.
The use of cross-chain transfers and decentralized exchanges (DEXs) adds to the complexity of this transaction.
By moving the funds across blockchains, the scammers effectively make it harder for investigators to track the movement of stolen assets. This tactic has become more common as criminals adapt to the growing scrutiny on blockchain transactions.
The Role of Tornado Cash in Obscuring Fund Movement
Tornado Cash mixes funds to provide privacy. As a result, investigators find it difficult to trace transaction origins.
Once scammers deposit funds into Tornado Cash, the platform breaks the blockchain link between sender and receiver.
As a result, scammers routed $3.1 million of the $7 million through the platform, which consequently made the investigation more complex.
While Tornado Cash was originally built for privacy-conscious users, it has gained attention for being used in illicit activities.
The platform has been linked to several high-profile money laundering cases in the past. This includes incidents involving the North Korean hacker group Lazarus, which used the platform to launder stolen funds.
The use of Tornado Cash in this case signals a shift toward more sophisticated tactics in crypto scams.
The platform’s privacy features are attractive to bad actors who seek to cover their tracks. As a result, Tornado Cash remains under scrutiny by authorities and continues to be a key element in investigations related to financial crimes.
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Tracing the Suspected Pig-Butchering Scam
The funds transferred from TRON to Ethereum are suspected to be linked to a pig-butchering scam.
These scams are long-running and typically involve convincing victims to invest in fake cryptocurrency schemes.
Once the scammers have built trust, they encourage the victims to send larger amounts, which are then moved through various wallets.
In this case, the funds were transferred across multiple wallets on TRON before being bridged to Ethereum.
This tactic is often used by scammers to make it more difficult to track the movement of stolen assets. The cross-chain transfer, combined with the use of privacy services like Tornado Cash, adds layers of complexity to the transaction.
The nature of these scams has raised concerns about the security of crypto investments. As more people invest in digital assets, the risk of falling victim to such schemes increases.
The growing sophistication of these scams underscores the need for stronger security measures within the crypto space.
Source: https://www.livebitcoinnews.com/wallet-bridges-7m-from-tron-to-ethereum-linked-to-crypto-scam/
