North Korea Stole $400 Million in Crypto Using Deepfake Video Calls, DOJ Says

The US Justice Department says North Korean hackers stole more than $400 million in cryptocurrency over 18 months through a video-call scam using recorded footage and AI deepfakes. Authorities say they seized infrastructure used in the operation, which the FBI calls “FaceStealer”; the case highlights the scale and evolving methods of crypto theft attributed to North Korean groups.

Hackers allegedly impersonated trusted contacts or industry figures, then used a fake technical problem to persuade targets to install malware through a link. The FBI said it seized more than 900 webcam recordings, and officials warned that open-source software developers are increasingly targeted. Separately, the Justice Department has court authorisation to seize or restrain over $1.2 billion linked to the $6.4 billion Binance hack, with more than $2.7 billion frozen so far; North Korea denies involvement.