Fool me twice: Stolen NTS crypto cold wallet photo leads to second leak
Published: 03 Mar. 2026, 18:12
Updated: 03 Mar. 2026, 19:52
![A cold wallet seized from a delinquent taxpayer and a phrase believed to be a mnemonic code appear in a photo attached to the National Tax Service’s press release on Feb. 26. [NATIONAL TAX SERVICE]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/03/03/80bba561-baee-4809-9f14-44200553382c.jpg)
A cold wallet seized from a delinquent taxpayer and a phrase believed to be a mnemonic code appear in a photo attached to the National Tax Service’s press release on Feb. 26. [NATIONAL TAX SERVICE]
Police discovered an additional leak in cryptocurrency confiscated by the National Tax Service (NTS) from tax evaders.
The stolen-then-returned cryptocurrency had been stolen once again, according to The Korean National Police Agency’s Cyber Terror Response Division.
The issue started last Thursday when the NTS posted a release announcing they had seized four cold wallets — offline cryptocurrency storage devices — from a tax evader. A photo attached to the news release accidentally displayed the full mnemonic code, a code that enables crypto access without a physical cold wallet.
Following the leak, an individual who “stole the cryptocurrency out of curiosity but then returned it” turned themselves in to the police. In the latest incident, another individual has stolen the cryptocurrency after the first suspect had returned it.
The leaked asset consisted of 4 million Pre-retogeum tokens worth about $4.8 million. The NTS stated the stolen cryptocurrency would be difficult to liquidate due to its unpopularity. The cryptocurrency is listed only on one exchange and has a very low trading volume of only a few hundred dollars a day.
“We will investigate the additional theft as we continue to investigate the previous suspect who confessed,” said the police.
BY LEE JI-WON [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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