After six days of dormancy following a wallet impersonation scam that resulted in the theft of $71 million in Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC), the stolen funds have begun moving, marking a significant development in the ongoing investigation.

The scammer, who orchestrated the sophisticated phishing attack on May 3, has initiated the transfer of the looted assets to new addresses. Initially, the stolen WBTC, totaling 1,155 coins, was converted into approximately 23,000 ETH.

The scam unfolded through an "address poisoning" scheme, where the scammer created a wallet address closely resembling that of the victim. By executing a small transaction to the victim's account, the scammer misled investors who typically validate wallet authenticity based on matching first and last few characters, overlooking discrepancies in the obscured middle characters.

Blockchain investigation firm PeckShield detected suspicious activity involving the stolen funds on May 8. The scammer began breaking down the assets into smaller portions and dispersing them across numerous crypto wallets, aiming to dilute and obscure their traceability.

Despite dispersing the funds across approximately 400 crypto wallets, PeckShield's investigation revealed that the diverted assets can still be traced back to the unidentified scammer.

The incident underscores the persistent threat of cryptocurrency-related scams, as highlighted in the FBI's 2023 Internet crime report, which documented a significant rise in losses due to such scams. However, April witnessed a notable decline in crypto losses from hacks and scams, attributed primarily to the absence of private key compromises.

With losses from hacks and scams hitting a record low in April, the crypto community remains vigilant against emerging threats and vulnerabilities. As investigations into the $71 million WBTC theft continue, stakeholders are closely monitoring developments to ensure enhanced security measures and safeguard investor interests in the digital asset space.