From 9-to-5 to 9-to-Wrong: DPRK IT Workers Allegedly Netted $1M/Month Moonlighting as Devs While HODLing Crypto

Picture this: the ultimate WFH arrangement. North Korean IT workers allegedly pulled off what might be the most productive side hustle in human history — generating over $3.5 million in just a few months by catfishing their way through job interviews, all while allegedly funging money straight back to Pyongyang's blockchain hacking treasury.

The intel dropped thanks to a white hat who got a little too curious about one of their setups. Blockchain detective ZachXBT published the leaked loot on X, and spoiler alert: these guys were running their gig economy scam like a startup with Series A funding. One worker, codenamed "Jerry," allegedly managed a squad of 140 people printing roughly $1 million monthly since late November. If only my index fund performed like that.

The crew coordinated payments through a website they've charmingly named "luckyguys.site" — secured by the password "123456," which is somehow both hillarious and terrifying. Some connected accounts traced back to entities already on the US Office of Foreign Assets Control naughty list, including Sobaeksu, Saenal, and Songkwang.

Cha-ching flowed through Payoneer to Chinese bank accounts, eventually connecting to wallets previously blacklisted by Tether in December. Because when you're funneling funds for a nuclear program, you might as well use the same payment apps as your freelance graphic designer neighbor.

The operation even included internal KPIs. Screenshots showed a leaderboard tracking how much crypto each worker mined since December 8, complete with blockchain explorer links for full transparency. Nothing motivates a team like posting your wallet balances for everyone to see. Gamification meets state-sponsored cybercrime.

Jerry allegedly fired up an Astrill VPN to access Gmail, where he shotgunned applications faster than a degen chasing the next memecoin. Full-stack developer here, software engineer there, 50 applications before lunch. In an unsent draft, he apparently pitched himself as a WordPress SEO specialist to a Texas t-shirt company — $30 an hour, 15 to 20 hours weekly. Very敬业, as they say in the Hermit Kingdom.

At least one worker, "Rascal," got creative with identity documents, sharing billing statements under fake Hong Kong addresses.