| DEPTH ▲ | FROM ▲ | TO ▲ | ASSET ▲ | AMOUNT ▲ | PROTOCOL ▲ | TAG ▲ | TIME ▲ | SOURCE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Victim (signs Permit2) | Inferno collector | USDC | ~103k (reported) | Permit2 | DRAIN | 2023-05-18 (UTC) | Group-IB report — Permit2 drain example |
| 2 | Inferno collector | Peel-chain address | USDC | — | Transfer | PEEL | 2023-05-18 (UTC) | Group-IB report — 5-12 hop peel chain |
| 3 | Peel-chain address | DEX router | USDC → ETH | — | Uniswap V3 | SWAP | 2023-05-18 (UTC) | Group-IB report — swap leg |
| 4 | DEX router | Tornado Cash pool | ETH | 3 deposits | Tornado Cash | MIXER | 2023-05-18 (UTC) | Group-IB report — 3 Tornado deposits |
| 5 | Tornado Cash pool | CEX hot wallet | USDT | ~42% of traced | Bridge + transfer | BRIDGE | 2023-05-19 (UTC) | Group-IB report — Binance/OKX/Bybit custody |
| 6 | CEX hot wallet | Binance / OKX / Bybit | USDT | 42% / 18% / 12% | Custody point | EXCHANGE | 2023-05-19 (UTC) | Group-IB report — custody split |
| Finding | Confidence | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Drainer developer fee wallet cluster (5 addresses) | 94% | Group-IB: consistent 20% split across 4,800+ drains |
| Primary peel chain (5-12 hops) | 99% | Group-IB: linear single-recipient hops, same gas payer |
| Exchange entries: Binance/OKX/Bybit | 100% | Group-IB report — custody-point attribution |
| Mixer usage: Tornado Cash (3 deposits) | 87% | Group-IB — entry/exit timing + amount correlation |
| Largest victim negotiation attempt | 100% | Group-IB — on-chain message + Scam Sniffer screenshot |
Between November 2022 and November 2023, the Inferno Drainer scam-as-a-service operation stole approximately $87 million from ~137,000 victims across Ethereum, Arbitrum, Polygon and BNB Chain.
Funds flowed from victims → drain transactions → a peel chain of 5-12 hops → Tornado Cash (3 deposits) → Binance, OKX and Bybit hot wallets. The developer fee (20-30%) was split across 5 identified collector addresses holding 250-400 ETH each at peak.
Trace reached custody points at Binance (42% of traced volume), OKX (18%) and Bybit (12%). The remaining 28% exited via Tornado Cash or remain in peel-chain addresses.
Based on public ledger data as of 2024-01-17. Identity determinations require law-enforcement action.