ZachXBT, a renowned blockchain investigator, has recently exposed the identity of a Canadian hacker known as Soup (Dan), who is allegedly behind several high-profile phishing scams in the crypto space. Among the scams are the security breach of Orbiter Finance’s Discord server, a platform dedicated to decentralized finance (DeFi) solutions, and the theft of the Crypto Punk 6983 NFT.
In a Twitter thread posted on July 17, ZachXBT detailed how Soup had been instrumental in the theft of millions of dollars worth of crypto and digital assets:
The hacker targeted the Discord servers of various web3 projects, exploiting their security vulnerabilities to carry out his illicit activities. According to the investigator, Soup has been instrumental in the theft of more than one million dollars worth of crypto and digital assets by targeting the Discord servers of various web3 projects.
Soup’s modus operandi involved creating fake Decrypt media websites and impersonating Decrypt’s senior software engineer, Luke Hamilton. In collaboration with other scammers, Soup would approach team members of legitimate crypto projects, tricking them into joining the scam Decrypt Discord server to steal their Discord tokens.
In May, Soup orchestrated the Pika Protocol Discord Server hack, enabling the scammers to steal over $220k worth of crypto assets. That same month, Soup and his team exploited the Orbiter Finance Discord, making off with over $760k through a fake airdrop campaign posted on the platform. While, a report from Chainalysis suggested that crypto criminals generated 77% less revenue during the first half of 2023 than 2022, there has been a noticeable increase in impersonation scams and phishing attacks this year.
Soup also spent some of the proceeds from his crimes on exclusive Roblox digital collectibles. ZachXBT has also shared additional information about Soup with some victims in the hope that legal action can be taken.
Soup’s scams also extended to the theft of Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC NFT #21080) last year. In collaboration with his scamming partner, Faint, the two minted a fake MAYC and offered to trade it to a victim for the real MAYC.
ZachXBT was able to track down one of Soup’s addresses after the scammer accidentally revealed it when proving that the ENS address purplelobster.eth was controlled by Blue – another scammer exposed by ZachXBT last week. Blue, a former YouTuber turned NFT scammer, also had connections to Monkey Drainer, known for stealing over $24 million in digital collectibles and boasting about his thefts online.
