US targets $1.2bn from Binance theft as FBI disrupts North Korean scam

The US has obtained court authorisation to seize or restrict the use of more than $1.2 billion stolen in last month’s $6.3 billion Binance heist. The move is part of a wider effort to disrupt North Korean cryptocurrency theft, alongside the takedown of cloud infrastructure used in a separate scam.

The FBI says the FaceStealer scheme has stolen more than $400 million in 18 months and that it seized over 900 webcam recordings of targeted tech workers. Attackers impersonate familiar contacts to lure victims into fake video meetings, record them and trick them into installing malware that steals cryptocurrency and contacts. The FBI links FaceStealer to North Korea-associated group Sapphire Sleet and attributes the Binance theft to another North Korean operation, TraderTraitor.