close
close

Fake Uber driver accused of stealing $223,000 in crypto from passengers

Fake Uber driver accused of stealing 3,000 in crypto from passengers

A Scottsdale, Arizona man has been accused of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars in cryptocurrency from victims who thought he was an Uber driver. Prosecutors called it a “highly sophisticated wire fraud,” and it’s an odd approach to the scam that makes it sound unique in more ways than one.

Nuruhussein Hussein, 40, allegedly picked up two unsuspecting people looking for Uber rides they had ordered in Scottsdale — one in March and the other in October Fox 10— calling their names on the street in front of a hotel. It’s unclear how Hussein could have known these people were looking for rides, and court documents give no indication of how he did it or how he knew the victims would have crypto accounts, according to Fox 10, though a hotel makes sense as a rich environment in the target. for those who want to be lifted up.

Once the victims were in the car, Hussein allegedly obtained the victims’ phones through some kind of pretense, including having trouble with his own phone and needing to look something up, as well as the need to log into the Uber app, according to NBC News. It is alleged that Hussein would then open the victim’s Coinbase account.

“While tampering with the unsuspecting victim’s phone, the suspect transferred cryptocurrencies from the digital wallet to his digital wallet,” police explained in a statement. And when one of the victims asked for his phone back, Hussein allegedly became mean and threatening.

“He made threats to one of the victims that she needed to chill or something bad would happen, and the victim thought he had a gun, even though he did not see a gun at the time,” court documents allege, according to Fox. 10.

Hussein was placed on a $200,000 bond and is prohibited from using the Internet. The judge also ordered electronic monitoring of his location and told him he must stay in Maricopa County, according to NBC News.

There appears to be a discrepancy between what police say publicly and what is contained in court documents, according to Fox 10. The Scottsdale Police Department apparently claims Hussein stole more than $300,000, but court documents indicate the theft to about $223,000. It’s not clear if there was a miscalculation of some kind, likely attributable to crypto fluctuations. But we don’t know for sure.

The Scottsdale Police Department did not respond to emailed questions Friday. Gizmodo will update this post if we hear back.