In one of the identity fraud and phishing-style hacking incidents that have been seen a lot in the cryptocurrency world in recent years, the thief was caught. This person, who forged the website of Coinbase, one of the most used exchanges in the world, managed to direct customers here and captured their information through trapped links.

Caught at the airport

According to the information provided by the US Department of Justice, 31-year-old fraudster Chirag Tomar was caught at the Atlanta airport in the USA in December 2023. The court, which has been continuing since then, has just concluded and the Indian fraudster was sentenced to 5 years in prison. The fraudster also accepted the allegations.

Collected 20 million, enjoyed himself

It was stated that Tomar collected information from people who entered the fake site for about 2 years, and also established a fake call centre and obtained personal information under the impression that a call was being made by Coinbase. Tomar, who entered the accounts of real Coinbase users through this information, made a $20 million profit.

The 31-year-old Indian bought more than one Lamborghini and Porsche. Expensive watches and luxury travels in Thailand and Dubai were also part of the expenses.

The number of ‘trapped link’ attacks in the cryptocurrency world has recently increased significantly. Users who click on these links, especially those sent via e-mails, can lose control of their wallets.

In the past days, an account that approved a trapped link post was worth more than $30 million.