On-chain investigator ZachXBT on August 10 accused Tiffany Milanovich, a person within the US, of involvement in a minimum of $5 million in stolen crypto belongings by way of {hardware} pockets and centralized alternate buyer help impersonation scams. In a thread on X, ZachXBT described Milanovich as a “caller,” who made calls impersonating help personnel to persuade victims to grant entry or carry out actions that led to belongings being drained from their accounts.
ZachXBT’s Allegations
In response to ZachXBT, Milanovich not solely participated in rip-off calls but additionally recorded, posted, or shared interactions with victims after funds had been drained. The investigator accused her of publicly boasting about luxurious spending, stolen cash, and playing actions on social media.
1/ Meet Tiffany Milanovich, a US based mostly menace actor tied to a minimum of $5M in thefts from {hardware} pockets and centralized alternate help impersonation scams.
She’s recorded herself taunting victims on calls after draining their funds.
Tiffany overtly flaunts luxurious purchases,… pic.twitter.com/mRMD4yhWiz
— ZachXBT (@zachxbt) August 10, 2026
In response to the allegations, Milanovich performed a task in “help impersonation” incidents, a type of social engineering through which scammers impersonate help employees from exchanges, crypto wallets, or custody companies. Reasonably than exploiting technical vulnerabilities instantly, this playbook targets consumer panic and belief, typically by way of faux emails, pressing cellphone calls, or spoofed login/approval interfaces.
ZachXBT stated Milanovich left behind a “paper path” together with chat logs, recordings, and on-chain knowledge. The thread was additionally accompanied by movies, screenshots, and pockets addresses for instance the circulate of funds in addition to how the concerned events communicated after the alleged thefts.
Alleged Sufferer Circumstances
The circumstances highlighted by ZachXBT span from late 2025 to mid-2026, with the most important quantity in a single case reaching $1.2 million.
October 2025: A sufferer misplaced roughly $500,000 in Bitcoin after belongings had been drained from their Coinbase account. ZachXBT stated Milanovich recorded the decision associated to this case and posted screenshots of the withdrawal transactions.
February 2026: Milanovich was accused of shifting round $100,000 in an Exodus pockets after participating in a “band 4 band” on Discord with one other menace actor—which means flexing balances or holdings to check who had extra money. ZachXBT stated an related tackle presently holds round $631,000 DAI and was funded by way of a number of on the spot exchanges.
June 2026: A sufferer misplaced $1.2 million in Bitcoin and Ether after receiving a phishing e mail impersonating BitcoinIRA underneath the identify “Patricia Massie.” Following this incident, in accordance with ZachXBT, Milanovich started flexing cash in Telegram teams, whereas many of the stolen funds remained unmoved.
Along with Milanovich, ZachXBT talked about a number of different actors allegedly linked to the phishing infrastructure and Telegram teams the place stolen funds had been later flexed. These particulars haven’t been independently verified, however they assist place the allegations within the context of a broader social engineering community somewhat than an remoted incident.
A Acquainted Rip-off Playbook
ZachXBT’s allegations mirror a well-known mannequin in crypto: scammers don’t have to hack a pockets if they’ll trick customers into handing over management themselves. In buyer help impersonation scams, victims are usually maneuvered right into a state of urgency by way of emails, cellphone calls, or faux login interfaces, then persuaded to verify transactions, share safety codes, or switch belongings to addresses managed by scammers.
The harmful side of this playbook is that it’s typically disguised as an account safety process. Requests akin to “transaction verification,” “locking suspicious entry,” or “shifting funds to a protected pockets” could make victims imagine they’re mitigating danger, when in actuality they’re finishing the ultimate step for his or her funds to be drained.
Crypto Impersonation Scams Are Surging
The case highlighted by ZachXBT comes amid a pointy surge in crypto impersonation scams. Chainalysis estimates that crypto-related scams and fraud obtained a minimum of $14 billion on-chain in 2025, and this determine might exceed $17 billion as newly recognized illicit addresses are added. Impersonation scams alone elevated by over 1,400% year-over-year, whereas the typical payout per rip-off tackle rose from $782 in 2024 to $2,764 in 2025.
Annual cryptocurrency rip-off losses. Supply: Chainalysis
Within the US, the FBI IC3 recorded 181,565 crypto-related complaints in 2025, with complete losses exceeding $11 billion. Whole losses from cyber-enabled fraud surpassed $17.7 billion, with funding fraud accounting for practically 49% of complete scam-related losses. These figures present that buyer help impersonation circumstances are now not remoted dangers, however a part of an more and more professionally organized fraud market.
For crypto customers, the clearest warning indicators stay unsolicited calls or emails requesting seed phrases, 2FA codes, session tokens, distant entry, or asset transfers to “shield the account.” For exchanges and pockets suppliers, the stress lies in clarifying official help channels, rising withdrawal warnings, and early detection of transactions displaying indicators of social engineering.
What Stays Unverified
The allegations within the thread presently stay solely from ZachXBT, whereas there aren’t any public statements from the DOJ, FBI, or courtroom filings confirming the whole incident. ZachXBT additionally posted a photograph of a search-and-seizure warrant in Connecticut that he stated Milanovich had shared, however this doc has not been independently verified by way of public information.
There’s presently no confirmed public response from Milanovich or her authorized representatives. Subsequently, particulars relating to her position, the quantities concerned, and connections to different menace actors stay allegations from an unbiased on-chain investigation, not authorized conclusions. ZachXBT stated Milanovich left behind a paper path by way of chat logs, recordings, and on-chain knowledge, whereas expressing hope that she is going to quickly face authorized penalties.
