Investigation unmasking “HZ,” a phishing drainer operator flaunting stolen proceeds, as Chase Senecal, an early landmark in drainer attribution.
“HZ” ran phishing operations that drained victims' wallets, then spent the proceeds conspicuously (a luxury watch, a car) while assuming the pseudonym would hold. The investigation showed it wouldn't: payments for the flaunted purchases were traceable onchain, and the trail connected the drainer wallets to a real identity, Chase Senecal.
The thread walked through the attribution step by step, from victim-reported phishing transactions, to consolidation wallets, to the purchases that linked the money to a name. It became one of the defining early examples of drainer attribution, widely cited as the template for the genre.
Beyond the individual case, the investigation punctured the assumption of consequence-free anonymity that the drainer scene was built on. The watch, infamously, was paid for onchain.
2022
Phishing drainer campaigns attributed to the persona “HZ” drain victims' wallets; the operator spends proceeds conspicuously.
September 1, 2022
Investigation published connecting HZ's drainer wallets, through his own purchases, to Chase Senecal.
Investigation: unmasking phishing drainer operator “HZ” as Chase Senecal, traced through his own conspicuous onchain purchases.
ZachXBT@zachxbtSeptember 2022Update: crypto, a Bored Ape, a Doodle, and the luxury watch tied to the phishing scammer known as HZ (Chase Senecal) were recovered.
ZachXBT@zachxbtFebruary 2023
