DOJ takes down FaceStealer: The anatomy of North Korea's deepfake heist exceeding $400 million

The U.S. Department of Justice has seized the infrastructure behind FaceStealer, a deepfake video-call scam tied to North Korea that stole more than $400 million in crypto over the past 18 months. The scheme used secretly recorded webcam footage and AI-generated deepfake videos to impersonate trusted contacts and build credibility during video calls. The takedown matters because it disrupts one of the largest state-linked crypto theft operations, which has funneled hundreds of millions of dollars from exchanges and protocols. Watch for whether recovered infrastructure yields seized funds or charges, and whether exchanges tighten video-verification and liveness checks against deepfake impersonation.