A man accused of posing as an Uber driver in Scottsdale, Arizona, has been arrested on charges of stealing a total of $300,000 in cryptocurrency from two unsuspecting passengers.
According to a recent report from Fox10 Phoenix, the suspect, identified as Nuruhussein Hussein, allegedly targeted passengers outside the W Hotel in Scottsdale in two separate incidents, one in March and another in October.
Authorities claim that Hussein pretended to be the Uber driver they had requested, even addressing them by name to gain their trust.
Scammers Requested Access to Passenger Phones
Once the passengers entered his vehicle, Hussein reportedly requested access to their phones.
In the first instance, he claimed his own phone was broken and needed to borrow theirs.
In the second, he offered to “fix” a supposed issue with the Uber app when the passengers noticed it had not confirmed a driver’s arrival.
While in possession of their phones, Hussein allegedly accessed their Coinbase accounts and transferred their cryptocurrency to his own cold storage wallet.
It remains unclear how he knew the passengers’ names to establish credibility.
Prosecutors revealed that during one of the encounters, Hussein threatened a passenger who grew suspicious and demanded their phone back, warning them to “chill or something bad would happen.”
On Dec. 11, Hussein was arrested by Scottsdale detectives in collaboration with U.S. Secret Service agents.
He faces multiple charges, including theft, fraud, and money laundering. Prosecutors successfully secured a $200,000 cash bond with the condition of electronic monitoring should he be released.
Additionally, Hussein has been barred from accessing the internet and from traveling abroad due to concerns he might flee to Ethiopia, where he reportedly has frequent visits.
Hussein’s next court appearance is scheduled for Dec. 18, while authorities continue their investigation into the case.
Offline Crypto Thefts Increase
The incident is part of a broader trend of offline crypto-related thefts.
According to GitHub, there were at least 19 reported cases of offline crypto thefts globally in 2024, a slight increase from 17 cases in 2023 but lower than the 32 recorded in 2021.
One of the most high-profile cases dates back to 2014 when an unidentified caller allegedly attempted to extort 1,000 Bitcoin from computer scientist and cryptographer Hal Finney.
More recently, on Dec. 3, thieves in Melbourne, Australia, crashed into a shopping center to steal a Bitcoin ATM. Police later discovered the pried-open ATM in a park, set ablaze.
Last week, a California court fined five individuals involved in IcomTech’s fraudulent Bitcoin Ponzi scheme $5 million.
The court ruling found the defendants guilty of fraud and misappropriation of funds through a fake cryptocurrency trading operation.
The ruling targets David Carmona, Juan Arellano Parra, Moses Valdez, and David Brend, who were found in violation of the Commodity Exchange Act and CFTC regulations.
They fraudulently solicited over $1 million from 190 individuals across the United States and internationally, leading to approximately $8.4 million in misappropriated funds by December 2022.
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