Twitch Was Apparently Used By Hackers To Launder $10 Million

Twitch's troubles with hackers aren't over yet. 

A report coming from an apparent analysis of the recent Twitch data breach revealed that hackers used the streaming platform to launder $10 million, writes Kotaku. 

These hackers managed to pull off the feat by allegedly making a lot of tiny donations to largely small-time streamers. 

The donations came in the form of Bits, which are the platform's "cheering currency." Allegedly, the hackers contracted Twitch streamers in Turkey to whom they'd send massive payments in Bits. 

After the payments are received, the streamers will then refund 80% of the money they got back to the hackers, which made the dirty money "clean" and usable. 

The alleged scam was picked up by several other Turkish streamers when they noticed that these small-time content creators--some of them with little to no following--were still earning as much as $1,800, reports Middle-East Eye.

The money that the hackers were sending these streamers was obtained by stealing the credit card info of random people. A total of 2,400 small-time Twitch streamers were in on the scam. 

Once again, the Twitch hack that occurred back in October is coming back to haunt the platform. It was considered by some to be one of the biggest data breaches in recent memory and has revealed a lot of things going on behind the scenes. 

Among the things that were uncovered by hackers was that Twitch has a "No Ban" list that counts several of the biggest streamers--several of them also being the most controversial ones. 

This money laundering scam is just one of many other troubles to spring up after the big hack. 

Read Also: Twitch Hack Reveals Only The Top 0.01% Of Streamers Can Make MILLIONS

What Is Twitch Doing About This? 

When the scam was discovered, various authorities moved in to conduct an investigation, reports PC Gamer.

There were no exact details shared about how law enforcement is handling this money laundering case. However, it has been reported to PC Gamer that Twitch is now taking action against specific Turkish streamers who have "abused" the platform's systems. 

A few Turkish streamers actually went forward and revealed their involvement in the money laundering issue. 

One of them is professional "Valorant '' player BBL Legoo, who said that around $4000 was sent to his channel. Before partaking in the scam, he was allegedly assured that it was a "legal and above-board" way of making some extra income. 

As a pro "Valorant" athlete, Legoo was apparently dismissed along with several others by the Turkish eSports team BBL eSports for their participation in the scheme. 

Another streamer (and another "Valorant" pro) named Mehmet Yağız "cNed" İpek also admitted his involvement in the crime, though he clarified that he didn't explicitly want to take part in it. 

A total of 150 Twitch streamers in Turkey have been reportedly tagged in the scandal, reports Dexerto. A company spokesperson said that this action is an assurance to the community that Twitch will not hesitate to take decisive action against streamers who engage in prohibited activities. 

Related Article: Twitch Launches New Category for Animal Livestreams, Featuring Animals from Zoos and Conservation Habitats

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Written by RJ Pierce