The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said in a statement that cybercriminals backed by North Korea had stolen more than $400 million using a highly effective cyberfraud scheme based on identity theft and AI-generated fake video calls. The disclosure comes after the FBI earlier this month accused the same hacking network of stealing $6 billion from the Binance digital-currency platform, allegations Pyongyang denies.
Brett Lederman, head of operations in the FBI’s cyber division, said: “The North Korean regime relies on extensive digital-asset theft to fund its illicit weapons program, after stealing billions of dollars in previous years.” The bureau also said that, besides Binance, the hackers heavily target people working in the digital-asset and Web3 technology sectors through psychological manipulation.
The fraud scheme, which the FBI calls “FaceStealer,” has resulted in the theft of more than $400 million over the past 18 months. Hackers pose as people known to their victims to lure them into video meetings, where they use deepfake footage. They then create a fictitious technical problem to persuade the victim to click on a link or an on-screen message, causing malicious software to be downloaded onto the victim’s device.
Using contact lists, social-media accounts and messaging apps, the hackers steal victims’ identities to target new people. Patrick Grandy, assistant director of the FBI’s Los Angeles office, warned that the tactic could deceive even the most experienced computer users because it exploits people’s trust in video conferences. The statement added that the FBI had seized more than 900 webcam video recordings made of victims of the “FaceStealer” scheme.
