Crypto exchange Upbit could recover $6.07 million in stolen funds after it successfully blocked fraudulent transactions with the help of Seoul Metropolitan Police. The Korean exchange used an advanced Fraud Detection System (FDS) to block the crypto scams.
This move by Upbit showcases the crypto exchange’s commitment to protect its users from scammers. Previously, on November 22, Upbit recovered $5 million stolen funds taken from 246 victims, and now $2.7 million has been returned to 134 users.
Speaking of the matter, a Dunamu official said this recovery shows the “power of technology and collaboration with the police as the crypto market grows.”
The Korean crypto exchange is still reeling under the effect of the 2019 Lazarus Group hack, where 342,000 Ethereum (ETH) tokens were stolen. This was one of the biggest crypto heists of the world as it accounted for a loss of 1.4 trillion.
Later on, investigators discovered that the Lazarus group had stolen Ethereum tokens across 51 crypto exchanges across 13 countries including China and the US.
Some of the ETH tokens were exchanged for Bitcoin sold at a 2.5% discount on Korean crypto exchanges like Upbit, but investigators could only recover $4.8 billion of them.
All these incidents point towards a growing dependence on crypto theft in North Korea, which is using digital assets to fund its state activities. This is a threat to the global crypto community.
Upbit’s successful attempts at recovering stolen crypto funds show the necessity of global cooperation to tackle crypto fraud. It highlights how crucial FDS technology is for law enforcement and how it can curtail investors’ losses.
Upbit has set standards for other crypto exchanges that want to protect their users and gain traders' trust.