Limassol crypto provider says imposter stole 35 million

A Cypriot resident who owns a blockchain service provider says his company was targeted by cyber criminals who managed to steal tens of millions in cryptocurrency simply by sending a message on a popular social app.

According to police, a foreign male in his late 30’s living in Limassol received a message on his computer via a popular social app in early August.

Police did not say whether the message was unsolicited but told Knews that a text sent on August 6 appeared to have been sent from an acquaintance.

“The way it was sent to him, it was made to look as if it was coming from someone he knew,” Limassol police spokesperson Lefteris Kyriakou said.

After the recipient clicked on a link, according to the complaint, the sender was able to hack into the computer to steal passwords from a digital wallet as well as company data saved on the system. Two days later, the company owner told police there was unauthorized access to his company portfolios that contained cryptocurrencies.

Knews has learned that the complainant’s company was registered abroad in a non-EU country, while the firms that had assigned the management of their digital money to him were also based overseas.

The total value of cryptocurrencies believed to have been stolen was estimated at €35,000,000.

No suspects have been named in the case which is being investigated by CID Limassol and its financial crime unit.