Cryptocurrency hackers swindle $2.5M through online game chat

Turkish hackers have stolen $2.47 million worth of cryptocurrencies from unsuspecting users using the chatting platform of an online game.

The crypto exchange found out this novel mode of theft and immediately alerted the police. The police quickly intervened and prevented further damage. The hackers managed to swindle 13 million Turkish lira ($2.47 million).

They used the chatting platform of popular gaming website PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG), to communicate with each other. PUBG is the fifth ranked in the list of highest selling games in the world.

The police have arrested 24 suspects from various provinces such as Ankara, Istanbul, Bursa, Antalya, Izmir, Edirne, Bolu and Afyonkarahisar.

The police have so far recovered 1.3 million lira ($250,000) in crypto and 54,000 lira ($10,300) in cash from the suspects. The recovered crypto has been returned to the crypto exchange. The police did not reveal the identity of the crypto exchange.

The police released two of the 24 suspects after they completed their legal procedures at the police station. The rest of the suspects went on to an Istanbul Courthouse. Here, the court restrained six of them, releasing the remaining sixteen “on condition of judicial control.”