A Bitcoin investor has reportedly lost approximately $91.4 million (783 BTC) in a sophisticated social engineering attack that took place on August 19, 2025. Blockchain investigator ZachXBT brought the incident to light, identifying it as one of the most substantial individual losses in the crypto space this year.

The attacker impersonated a hardware wallet support agent and successfully deceived the victim into revealing their wallet credentials. This allowed the attacker to gain unauthorized access to the victim's Bitcoin wallet and transfer the funds. The stolen funds were then laundered through Wasabi Wallet, a privacy-focused tool that uses a coinjoin protocol to obfuscate transaction trails. This makes it difficult to trace the source of the funds.

This incident highlights the increasing prevalence of social engineering attacks in the cryptocurrency realm, which contributed to an estimated $3.1 billion in losses during the first half of 2025. Unlike technical exploits, social engineering targets human psychology, manipulating individuals into divulging sensitive information. Scammers often impersonate legitimate entities, such as crypto exchanges or hardware wallet providers, to gain the victim's trust.

The attack occurred exactly one year after the $243 million Genesis creditor theft, which led to the arrest of 12 individuals in California. Both events underscore the persistent vulnerabilities within the cryptocurrency ecosystem, particularly regarding user trust and verification processes. Experts are now stressing the importance of behavioral security, advising users to be vigilant against urgent requests for cold storage access or seed phrase verification. ZachXBT advises individuals to treat every call or email as a potential scam.

In a separate incident, North Wales Police issued a warning after a victim lost £2.1 million in Bitcoin to scammers impersonating senior UK police officers. The scammers fabricated a story about a security breach involving the victim's personal identification documents and prompted the victim to enter their password on a fake website, granting them access to their wallet.

These incidents highlight the urgent need for coordinated action among platforms, regulators, and users to establish a more secure environment in the crypto space. As the sector attracts increasing institutional and individual investments, addressing the human element of digital security is crucial in preventing further losses.