A 19-year-old allegedly stole $13 million in Bitcoin and Ether through social engineering scams targeting crypto holders.
A Florida teenager faces charges for allegedly stealing $13 million in cryptocurrency through social engineering scams. Trenton Richard Johnston and co-conspirators tricked victims into believing their accounts were compromised, draining funds in Bitcoin and Ether transactions.
The scheme began in January 2024, with one victim losing $41,000 in ETH in February. By March, the group extracted $13 million in BTC from another victim by posing as Google and Trezor representatives. Authorities linked $1.2 million of the stolen funds to luxury spending in Miami and Los Angeles.
Crypto security experts note such scams exploit irreversible transactions and human trust, rather than technical vulnerabilities. The case highlights rising risks of AI-enhanced impersonation attacks in digital asset markets.