The Gwangju District Prosecutors’ Office recently discovered that the Bitcoin it had confiscated in a criminal case and stored as part of an investigation was no longer accessible, according to a report by a South Korean news outlet.
It is estimated that the losses are at “hundreds of billions of won,” though the exact figure has not been publicly confirmed.
Bitcoin Missing From Government Storage
The incident reportedly came to light during a routine internal inspection of seized financial assets, a process that includes checking passwords and access information kept on removable storage devices such as USB drives. A prosecution official cited in local coverage said the loss may have occurred after someone accidentally accessed a so-called “fake site” while conducting the inspection. This has raised the possibility that the BTC was compromised through a scam link rather than a direct breach of a secured system.
Meanwhile, another local media, “The Chosun Daily,” reported that roughly 70 billion won (about $47.7 million) worth of Bitcoin was missing, and that the suspected cause was a phishing attack triggered when an agency worker visited a fraudulent website. The report stated that the wallet password or access credentials may have been exposed externally, which enabled attackers to drain the seized holdings.
Authorities are reportedly working to determine the circumstances of the loss and trace the whereabouts of the seized assets, but could not disclose specifics.
Phishing Threats Persist
Phishing remains one of the most common tactics used to steal crypto, and they rely on spoofed websites or messages designed to trick victims into entering sensitive information such as private keys or login details. These scams threaten both individual and institutional crypto holders across the world.
Earlier this year, users of Ledger, the prominent France-based crypto hardware wallet company, were targeted in a phishing scam following a data breach at its e-commerce partner, Global-e. After Ledger confirmed that customer contact and order details were exposed, scammers sent personalized emails claiming a fake merger between Ledger and Trezor.
The messages instructed users to “migrate” their wallets by entering 24-word recovery phrases on a spoofed site.
In December, Bitget CEO Gracy Chen warned of a rise in phishing scams using fake Zoom and Microsoft Teams meetings to steal crypto. Hackers send bogus links via Telegram or fake Calendly pages, then claim audio or connection issues during calls to trick victims into downloading malware. Chen urged users to verify meeting links, avoid installing software during calls, and report suspicious contacts immediately.
The post $47M Bitcoin Vanishes From South Korean Prosecutors’ Custody in Shocking Seizure Mishap appeared first on CryptoPotato.
Authorities have not confirmed the exact amount missing, but a local report put the loss at $47.7 million, possibly stolen after an agency worker clicked a phishing link. AA News, Crypto News, Bitcoin (BTC) Price, South Korea
This articles is written by : Nermeen Nabil Khear Abdelmalak
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