Turkish authorities have arrested 11 suspects in connection with an alleged crypto wallet hack that resulted in more than $80,000 losses for victims.
The Turkish National Police’s Cybercrime Department are being credited for the arrests that have been reported in the Turkish newspaper Hürriyet.
Investigation Launched After Complaints
The newspaper stated that the investigation was launched when 14 people reported to local authorities that their crypto wallets were hacked and bitcoin stolen and transferred to other wallets.
The complaints resulted in an investigation by the Istanbul Police against a group of cybercriminals that have allegedly been hacking into users’ emails and crypto wallets to gain passwords and account details.
The Turkish Police went into action on October 26 to detain 11 people across many locations around Istanbul in a coordinated raid with the Harekat Police’s special operational units. 10 of the suspects were then taken into custody and are currently being held accused of the crimes.
The police are said to have seized all manner of evidence pertaining to the case such as fake ID cards, devices that have allegedly been used for the crimes, 18 mobile phones, a myriad of SIM cards and a total of 22 memory pen drives.
Crypto Wallet Hackers Stole $80,000
Turkish prosecutors have detailed that $80,000 in bitcoin was stolen by the alleged crypto wallet hackers and then moved to other accounts to avoid detection. The hackers attempted to cover their tracks, but have seemingly failed to do so thoroughly.
The cybercrime unit of the Turkish Police had apparently traced some of the suspects by tracking new SIM card registration numbers which were linked to accounts on crypto exchanges that were owned by the hackers. Other members of the Turkish crypto hacking group were caught by security cameras when trying to remove the stolen money from various ATM machines and banks.
The article in Hürriyet has stated that the case is currently ongoing. It is believed that Turkish authorities are still looking to find more of the hacking victims to build a stronger case against the alleged crypto wallet hackers.
