Portugal police return €500,000 stolen in crypto scam tied to farming video game

The Portuguese Judiciary Police (PJ) and the National Cybercrime Unit (UNC3T) recovered roughly half a million euros in several currencies after tracing a fraud that used a malicious link promising the farming simulation game Staxel. The victim downloaded a file that installed malware, giving the attackers unauthorized access to the victim’s computers and cryptocurrency wallet credentials, enabling multiple illicit transfers.

Investigation cooperation with the cryptocurrency exchange Binance allowed authorities to map the flow of the stolen assets, locate the suspect and return the full amount to the victim. The suspect has been indicted for computer fraud and illegal access. Police urged the public to verify the source of links and files before downloading and to employ robust security measures when handling digital assets.