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FBI arrests man accused of using Steam games to empty victims’ crypto wallets | TechCrunch

FBI arrests man accused of using Steam games to empty victims’ crypto wallets | TechCrunch

US prosecutors have accused a Florida man of uploading fake video games containing malware to Steam, the popular PC gaming platform. Once victims downloaded and installed the games, the malware was designed to infect their computers, steal their passwords and other data, and empty their crypto wallets, according to a criminal complaint. On Tuesday, the

US prosecutors have accused a Florida man of uploading fake video games containing malware to Steam, the popular PC gaming platform. Once victims downloaded and installed the games, the malware was designed to infect their computers, steal their passwords and other data, and empty their crypto wallets, according to a criminal complaint.

On Tuesday, the FBI arrested Zyaire Wilkins, a 21-year-old Florida resident and student. On Wednesday, prosecutors charged him and several unnamed accomplices with hacking crimes. Over the past two years, Wilkins and his partners allegedly published several malware-laden video games on Steam, including BlockBlasters, Dashverse, Lampy, Lunara, and PirateFi. Using that malware, the FBI says, Wilkins and his accomplices infected about 8,000 victims and then hacked into about 80 cryptocurrency wallets to steal at least $220,000 in cryptocurrency.

Wilkins and the others marketed their malicious video games on Discord, LinkedIn and Telegram, according to authorities.

Wilkins’ attorney did not respond to a request for comment.

In March, the FBI announced it was investigating a hacker suspected of using malware-embedded video games published on Steam to hack victims. In the announcement, the office asked people who downloaded the malicious games, including those named in this week’s complaint, to come forward and provide evidence to assist in the investigation.

In the last year, Valve, the maker of Steam, removed several video games from its platform after they were found to contain malware, including PirateFi. All of the games were designed to look legitimate, to the point that players could install and play them, but they all contained malware.

After the FBI identified another person involved in the crimes, according to the complaint, federal agents interviewed her. The anonymous person said they worked with other people to raise money to launch and market malicious games in exchange for sharing some of the stolen cryptocurrency. The FBI identified a specific crypto account involved in the scheme and then tracked cryptocurrency payments made with that account to purchase various gift cards, including for UberEats. After subpoenaing Uber, the feds were able to see that the gift cards were linked to an account that made deliveries to Wilkins, who called himself Sibel.eth online, according to the complaint.

The feds then obtained a search warrant for Wilkins’ residence, where they seized his MacBook laptop, cell phones, other devices, and digital wallets. According to the complaint, he refused to speak or answer questions.

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