The bizarre crypto sting: Stole hundreds of thousands of dollars and was caught because of a pizza delivery
A federal cyber operation exposed malware hidden in innocent games that affected 8,000 devices. Now, a 21-year-old from Florida faces serious charges and up to 10 years in prison.
Did you download a game from a leading digital store? It could cost you dearly: a federal cyber investigation revealed in the USA proves once again how fluid security boundaries are. Sophisticated malware hidden inside innocent-looking video games, and allegedly distributed on the popular Steam platform, led to the theft of hundreds of thousands of dollars from gamers' crypto wallets.
The illegal operation, which lasted over a year and a half, affected about 8,000 devices. The method was highly targeted: the attackers identified users holding digital assets on social networks (such as Telegram, Discord, and X) and lured them into downloading infected games such as PirateFi and BlockBlasters. At the moment of installation, the software secretly siphoned passwords and authentication data, which allowed the attackers to penetrate 80 wallets and empty them.
The food delivery that implicated the suspect
FBI investigators tracked down 21-year-old Ziaire Wilkins from Florida, who was charged with assisting the campaign and transferring funds totaling about $382,000. The breakthrough in the investigation was actually the Uber Eats app: the stolen funds were converted into digital gift cards, which were used to order food deliveries, including several pizza orders that arrived directly at Wilkins' residence and his academic dorms.
A raid by federal agents on his home led to the seizure of electronic devices and encrypted codes for crypto wallets. Now the young man faces a serious federal indictment, for which he is expected to receive up to 10 years in prison.
