The 6 Stages of FaceStealer: Are You a Victim of North Korean Scam?

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North Korean hackers have stolen more than $400 million in cryptocurrency by posing as friends and colleagues during fake video calls, the FBI has revealed.

The scam involves hijacking messaging accounts, secretly recording people through their webcams and using the footage to trick their contacts into installing malicious software.

The hackers created convincing copies of Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Google Meet, using familiar faces and fake technical glitches to gain access to victims' computers.

The FBI said on Thursday that the operation, known as "FaceStealer," had stolen more than $400 million over the past 18 months.

Agents have seized computer infrastructure used in the scheme, along with more than 900 webcam recordings of victims.

The FBI has outlined six stages of the scam, with each victim potentially leading the hackers to more targets.

The hackers start with someone whose computer has already been compromised.

They search for cryptocurrency wallets and passwords, access the person's contacts and messages, and secretly record their webcam while they wait to join a video call.

The hackers take over accounts on platforms including Telegram, LinkedIn, Slack and Discord.

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