According to a new investigation by cryptocurrency investigator ZachXBT, the fraudster Ronald Spektor impersonated Coinbase support as part of a scam campaign. In October, he stole at least $6.5 million.
However, Spektor's activities have hit a dead end; more than half of the stolen funds have not been traced, along with his accomplices and other victims.
Coinbase Impersonation Fraudster
A new investigation by expert ZachXBT has exposed a major fraud campaign that stole at least $6.5 million last month. The fraudster Ronald Spektor impersonated Coinbase support to lure victims. A victim reported the massive loss to ZachXBT, and Zach quickly investigated on-chain data.
While Bit thefts are generally declining, sophisticated scams are becoming more complex. Spektor's efforts fall into this category, given the scale of the damage and the extensive security measures. Specifically, he managed to conceal at least part of his activities before Zach made the investigation public.
"Many data leaks have publicly exposed Ronald's information... this links to other leaks containing what is believed to be his full name. Unfortunately, this story does not have a happy ending. It's unclear who Ronald's accomplices are... as the Ledger screenshots only show $3.1 million of the $6.5 million stolen," ZachXBT confirmed.
To cover his tracks, Spektor deleted many social media accounts, which were a valuable source of incriminating evidence. Scammers have collectively abandoned the TON ecosystem, but Spektor remains an active Telegram user. The TON address linked to his profile has been used for money laundering. Both his Telegram and X accounts, however, have now been suspended.
The fraudster used this wallet to conduct multiple Coinbase transactions, implying an undetermined number of victims. Unfortunately, Spektor's trail seems to have gone cold. ZachXBT did not disclose any information about leads related to the unknown funds or Spektor's remaining fugitive accomplices.
However, this public investigation may lead to new information. Earlier this month, the CEO and the entire core team of OpSec resigned after a ZachXBT investigation. Zach had uncovered suspicious activities from the company's owners, which corroborated the employees' suspicions. These employees then left a few weeks after Zach made his findings public.
