An Arizona man was arrested for allegedly posing as an Uber driver to pull off a crypto heist worth $300,000.
Scottsdale detectives, along with special agents from the U.S. Secret Service, took Nuruhussein Hussein into custody on charges of theft, fraud, and money laundering.
Crazy story
Hussein lured unsuspecting victims outside the W Hotel in Scottsdale by pretending to be their Uber driver.
The cherry on the top is that this wasn’t a one-time gig, because he did it twice, once in March and again in October, calling the victims by name to make his ruse more convincing.
Once the passengers got into his car, police say Hussein would ask to borrow their phones because his was broken.
In one case, when a passenger questioned why the app showed he hadn’t arrived yet, he offered to help troubleshoot.
But here’s where it gets shady, he allegedly used their phones to access their Coinbase accounts and transfer crypto directly.
Threats and arrest
Things took a dark turn when one victim became suspicious and asked for their phone back. Hussein reportedly threatened them, saying they should “chill or something bad would happen.”
Hussein was apprehended last week, and prosecutors have pushed for a $200,000 secured cash bond along with electronic monitoring if he can pay for his release. The investigation is still ongoing.
To add another layer of intrigue, Hussein has been banned from using the internet or traveling abroad after prosecutors expressed concerns that he might destroy evidence or flee to Ethiopia, where he frequently travels. He’s due back in court on December 18.
In trouble
This incident highlights a troubling trend, because according to GitHub, there have been at least 19 reported cases of offline crypto robberies around the world over the past year. That’s up from 17 in 2023 and 32 in 2021.
The history of crypto theft dates back to 2014 when an unknown caller attempted to extort computer scientist Hal Finney for 1,000 Bitcoin, which was valued at about $400,000 at the time.
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