Phishing Attack Costs South Korean Authorities $47M in Confiscated Bitcoin: Report
A phishing scam has resulted in South Korean prosecutors losing approximately $47 million in confiscated Bitcoin, prompting authorities to launch an investigation to trace the stolen cryptocurrency.
An investigation has been initiated by South Korean authorities following reports that a substantial amount of Bitcoin, which had been confiscated in connection with a criminal proceeding, was stolen.
Representatives from the Gwangju District Prosecutors' Office made the discovery that approximately 70 billion won ($47.7 million) in Bitcoin (BTC) cryptocurrency had gone missing while conducting a standard inspection of confiscated financial holdings, based on local news outlets' reports published on Thursday.
According to The Chosun Daily's reporting, the Bitcoin theft occurred following the external leak of a password, with an official from the prosecutor's office attributing the breach to a phishing attack that took place when a staff member from the agency visited a fraudulent website.
Phishing represents a prevalent form of attack within the cryptocurrency space, wherein threat actors attempt to obtain access to digital wallets by creating fake versions of authentic websites or emails designed to deceive cryptocurrency holders into revealing their private keys.
Data from Scam Sniffer, published earlier this month, indicated that cryptocurrency losses associated with phishing attacks decreased by more than 80% in 2025, with total losses dropping to $83.85 million, while the total number of individuals victimized also fell by approximately 70% to 106,000.
With the continued expansion of cryptocurrency adoption, numerous law enforcement organizations across the globe are seizing and maintaining custody of significant quantities of digital tokens; nevertheless, the specific methods employed for custody are frequently kept confidential.
South Korea to investigate Bitcoin theft
Officials from the prosecutors' office have reportedly refused to reveal the precise amount that was lost or provide details about when the Bitcoin was initially seized, pointing to the active nature of the investigation. Cointelegraph reached out to the prosecutors' office seeking additional comment.
"We are conducting an investigation to track the circumstances and whereabouts of the seized items. We cannot confirm specific details."A prosecution official told Yonhap News
This theft incident follows the dismantling of a significant cryptocurrency laundering operation by South Korean customs authorities earlier this week on Monday.
Law enforcement holding billions in crypto
Authorities in South Korea are far from being the only government agencies maintaining substantial cryptocurrency reserves. Last year in June, Coinbase, a United States-based cryptocurrency exchange, revealed that it had assisted the US Secret Service in confiscating $225 million worth of crypto that had allegedly been stolen by fraudsters, marking the agency's most significant cryptocurrency seizure to date.
In another case, authorities in the United Kingdom were deliberating in October of last year over whether they should retain $6.4 billion worth of confiscated Bitcoin rather than using it to compensate fraud victims. This particular Bitcoin stash was confiscated in 2018 from scammers who had perpetrated fraud against 128,000 investors located in China.