FBI: North Korean hackers used AI deepfake video calls to steal over $400M in crypto
11/13/2026 — 11/13, 15:21·2 sources (all)·2 reports (all)
Key takeaways
- The FBI said North Korea-backed hackers stole over $400 million in cryptocurrency over 18 months using a technique called "FaceStealer," whi…
Background & analysis
On November 13, 2026, Techmeme carried a Reuters report stating that the FBI had publicly attributed a sustained theft campaign to state-backed hackers from North Korea. According to the FBI, these attackers used a technique named FaceStealer over the past 18 months to steal more than $400M in cryptocurrency. The report describes FaceStealer as a scheme in which fake video calls are combined with AI deepfakes to impersonate trusted contacts and deceive victims into transferring funds. The available reporting presents this attribution and the outline of the technique as announced by the FBI, without detailing how the scheme was detected, which victims were affected, or what investigative or enforcement steps have followed. No further developments, follow-up statements, or additional technical detail on FaceStealer appear in the material, so the account currently stops at the FBI's public attribution and the 18-month timeframe and loss figure cited in the report.
AI-generated from 1 reports · updated 12 hours ago
Latest turnAccording to cnBeta, the FBI reported that North Korean-backed hackers stole over $400 million in cryptocurrency over 18 months using fake video conference social engineering attacks. Attackers used deepfakes and familiar personas to trick targets into installing malware.
- Heat index
- 152
- All sources
- 2
- All reports
- 2
- First seen
- 13 hours ago
Reports on this story headlines open the original
According to cnBeta, the FBI reported that North Korean-backed hackers stole over $400 million in cryptocurrency over 18 months using fake video conference social engineering attacks. Attackers used deepfakes and familiar personas to trick targets into installing malware.
cnBetaAI score 61The FBI says North Korean state-backed hackers stole more than $400 million in cryptocurrency over the past 18 months using a scheme dubbed "FaceStealer," which relies on fake video calls and AI deepfakes to impersonate trusted contacts. Reuters reported the attribution.
TechmemeAI score 59
Other stories people are talking about
- Heat index 2252Nvidia stock plunges after Jensen Huang resigns, with retail investors buying the dip35 sources
- Heat index 1474RisingGoogle Opens Gemini 4 Hydrogen to All Users as High-Speed Model21 sources
- Heat index 1439SurgeJensen Huang exits as NVIDIA CEO, leadership vacuum lingers16 sources
- Heat index 791SurgeAnthropic hires gas supply lead to power data center expansion after IPO10 sources
- Heat index 678SurgeMicrosoft races to fix global outage hitting Outlook, Teams and Copilot8 sources
How is heat calculated?About the methodHide
Heat counts how many independent sources covered a story in the last 48 hours: one source counts once no matter how many posts it published, decaying with a 24-hour half-life. What ranks first is what many people are talking about.
This page aggregates public feeds. Headlines and summaries are machine-organized and remain the property of the original authors; verify important facts at the source. If you believe a headline or summary infringes your rights, email the contact address in the footer with the page URL and basis of your claim, and we will remove or replace it after review.
- Surge
- Discussion rising fast
- New
- First report within 6 hours
- Rising
- Still gathering discussion