Crypto scammer reported to ICE after stealing cancer patient’s treatment fund

Open-source intelligence sleuths have shopped a scammer to the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) for stealing $32,000 worth of crypto from a cancer patient via a malware-ridden game.  

Twenty-six-year-old streamer and self-proclaimed “crypto degen” Raivo Plavnieks is currently battling stage-four sarcoma, which, as he elegantly puts it, is “growing faster than a shitcoin pump.”

He’s currently raising funds for his treatment with a Pump Fun token called “CANCER,” which has reached a market cap of $2.5 million, and made $46,000 in creator rewards.

However, he was tricked into playing a stranger’s Steam game called “Block Blasters,” which promised financial compensation but instead drained $32,000 of his “creator rewards.”  

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Malware specialist VX-Underground caught wind of the “heinous” hack yesterday and decided to probe the game further. The website’s team downloaded it, uncovered its infrastructure, and revealed it was responsible for attacks on 907 victims. 

VX-Underground also discovered the attackers’ Telegram credentials, and multiple sleuths across the internet banded together to expose them.

One of these attackers was found to be an Argentine living in the US, known for their love of sports cars and creating “brainless” TikToks.  

However, their love of flaunting the fruits of their ill-gotten gains has come back to bite them after sleuths saw their videos and reported them to ICE.

Read more: These AI chatbots are happy to help you run a crypto scam

Fortunately for Plavnieks, the crypto community banded together to make him whole again, and he will be returning to livestreaming after some rest. 

Block Blasters was eventually taken down by Steam after hundreds of people reported the game. However, it was flagged by the security software G Data CyberDefense and reported to Steam a week ago.

A joint report crediting VX-Underground, ZachXBT, and other online sleuths called the vetting process of Steam’s developer Valve “appalling” and “incompetent,” noting the malware had been available for a month.

It highlighted how the attackers held no remorse and lied about returning the funds to the scammed cancer patient. “They will face their punishment in due course,” it said.

You can donate to Plavnieks’ GoFundMe here. It has already raised over €11,984 ($14,000), just €6,000 ($8,000) away from its target.

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