Altcoins Talks - Cryptocurrency Forum
Crypto Discussion Forum => Cryptocurrency discussions => Topic started by: NotATether on June 27, 2024, 12:38:38 PM
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https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/man-convicted-violent-home-invasion-robberies-steal-cryptocurrency
The Justice Department announced this.
This man had a bunch of henchmen who kidnapped people inside their own homes in order to rob them and extorted them for their bitcoins and other crypto.
Every person's worst nightmare - the $5 wrench attack.
All this for a measly six figures of coins.
The guy being sentenced right now is the ringleader - so surely this will be the end of his spree.
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Mandatory meme
(https://www.talkimg.com/images/2024/06/27/h4zhZ.png)
Oh, and before somebody talks about faulting your wealth, I'm pretty sure everyone after making 1 million in crypto will keep staying in a one-bedroom apartment in a ghetto and drive a '93 vw golf to work at McDonald! Yeah, cause that's the reason everyone seeks profit!
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This is why privacy is required. How did they know that they had cryptocurrencies? This gang knew information that required a lot of effort to know your balance of cryptocurrencies, unless these victims spoke publicly about their investments.
Access to email will not be enough
Evidence introduced at trial revealed that St Felix and his co-conspirators gained unauthorized access to their targets’ email accounts and conducted physical surveillance prior to attempting the home invasion robberies. They laundered the funds they stole through anonymity-enhanced cryptocurrencies such as Monero, as well as “instant exchanges” and decentralized finance platforms that did not conduct know-your-customer checks. St Felix and his co-conspirators in the United States and abroad used encrypted messaging applications to communicate about their targets and their money laundering efforts.
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This man had a bunch of henchmen who kidnapped people inside their own homes in order to rob them and extorted them for their bitcoins and other crypto.
Every person's worst nightmare - the $5 wrench attack.
This show how important it is not to show off that you like bitcoin or any other cryptocurrency in social media. Do not use Bitcoin T-Shirts, etc. etc...
I try to be very discreet about my involvement with cryptocurrencies in real life. Specially because I live in Brazil, a very dangerous country
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There is likely a possibility that they must have sent a phishing link to the victim without him knowing it or the possibility of someone telling them about him being a Crypto enthusiast and holding Crypto assets which is valuable for them to steal from.
For them to carry out this act, they must have been trailing and studying his pattern to know when to attack him and they got him to release their crypto assets to him.
This is the reason why we are advised to be discrete about our crypto holdings so as not to attract eyes to us because we do not know who is going to plan an attack on us at any time. So it is best to protect ourselves from being attacked by being silent on our crypto investment.
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https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/man-convicted-violent-home-invasion-robberies-steal-cryptocurrency
The Justice Department announced this.
This man had a bunch of henchmen who kidnapped people inside their own homes in order to rob them and extorted them for their bitcoins and other crypto.
Every person's worst nightmare - the $5 wrench attack.
All this for a measly six figures of coins.
The guy being sentenced right now is the ringleader - so surely this will be the end of his spree.
This is why it would really be better that you should really be that making yourself that low key in terms of your crypto holdings or engagement because of these kind of
possible situations on which it could really be putting up your life in danger. It is really just that right that these criminals would really be going to jail into the things that they've done
but it is really that as into those people who had put up themselves on such situations.
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he did it a lot of times. he make large sum yet he didn't and continue robbing and kidnapping. the six figure money he earned weren't enough to hide from the law still. good that he is caught. easy to find a target in social media especially the ones who kept bragging they make money out of memecoins.
for a robber as a career, this man seem to be knowledgeable in crypto that he can use instance exchange and dex. some users who had been in crypto since time they were not able to make transactions even in uniswap.
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I try to be very discreet about my involvement with cryptocurrencies in real life. Specially because I live in Brazil, a very dangerous country
Brazil and Argentina in particular have to be two of the most dangerous places in the world for cryptocurrency, specifically because of 1) the low standard of living 2) the presence of gangs who are aware about crypto who will rob people for that reason.
They can do really crazy stuff too - there was this crypto influencer who was dismembered by gangsters and found in a suitcase. (I think it was in Buenos Aires.)
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I hope these people get the maximum sentence of life imprisonment to deter and stop this; this crime makes us Crypto holders uphold and practice privacy; do not be too extravagant in showing your profit from Cryptocurrency, especially on social media, because there are a lot of prying eyes and you do not who are looking on your posts.
Keeping it to ourselves is better so we have peace of mind.
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Good that one of them has been caught and sentenced to jail, it is never a good scenario when someone gets robbed of assets that took them a lot of time and cost them money to acquire. Learn not to flaunt your wealth in public, i know you can be attacked even if you live a modest life, but the chances are lower, that for someone who brags about how much coins they have.
Extending your seed phrase with a passphrase can also help you with plausible deniability in a situation of a $5 wrench attack.
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https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/man-convicted-violent-home-invasion-robberies-steal-cryptocurrency
Every person's worst nightmare - the $5 wrench attack.
All this for a measly six figures of coins.
according to the details this figure is what they have gathered (at least from the listed and proven amount not counting those who are not
broadcast and does not know if they we being one of the accuser .
it says all here
According to trial evidence, in April 2023, St Felix and a co-conspirator forced their way into a victim’s home. There, St Felix and his co-conspirator assaulted, zip-tied, and held the victim at gunpoint, and threatened more violence against the victim and the victim’s spouse, while other co-conspirators transferred more than $150,000 in cryptocurrency from the victim’s account.
The guy being sentenced right now is the ringleader - so surely this will be the end of his spree.
but His accomplished must be also in the jail now , because for sure there will be others that will continue this kind of operation as there is a quick flow of funds inside this kidnapping .
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Sometimes I feel grateful to live among people with low technological literacy. ha ha
because there are a lot of prying eyes and you do not who are looking on your posts.
Without stalking posts, certain apps also indirectly reveal someone's privacy. For example, Telegram gives users information about whether someone in their contact list has joined the same groups. Now it's made worse because almost all of their crypto ecosystem is implemented in that app.
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This man should be sent to the worst prison cell possible so he can suffer and reflex on the many big wrongs he did with innocent people whose only fault is getting involved with cryptocurrency. This whole story is telling us to be more private with our cryptocurrency details as we don't know if there are evil people who can pick up traces of the things we do. This is also be a big warning for people who can planning the same venture to stop and think again as law authorities are still here and they can be caught and suffered the sting of being in prison. I am glad I am not actually holding significant amount of Bitcoin or any cryptocurrency so I may not land in the list of these evil people...let this message be read by them.
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https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/man-convicted-violent-home-invasion-robberies-steal-cryptocurrency
The Justice Department announced this.
This man had a bunch of henchmen who kidnapped people inside their own homes in order to rob them and extorted them for their bitcoins and other crypto.
Every person's worst nightmare - the $5 wrench attack.
All this for a measly six figures of coins.
The guy being sentenced right now is the ringleader - so surely this will be the end of his spree.
- Kidnappers have leveled up in this era, so how did those thieves know that the ones they are going to prey on are crypto holders? That means the kidnappers could be their neighbors or acquaintances. Fortunately, the authorities quickly took action in that matter.
Times are really different now. As technology has upgraded, the bad guys have also upgraded their methods to prey on those they want to target.
But it's good that the thief was still caught; he should be punished so that he will regret for the rest of his life why he did that bad thing.
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https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/man-convicted-violent-home-invasion-robberies-steal-cryptocurrency
The Justice Department announced this.
This man had a bunch of henchmen who kidnapped people inside their own homes in order to rob them and extorted them for their bitcoins and other crypto.
Every person's worst nightmare - the $5 wrench attack.
All this for a measly six figures of coins.
The guy being sentenced right now is the ringleader - so surely this will be the end of his spree.
- Kidnappers have leveled up in this era, so how did those thieves know that the ones they are going to prey on are crypto holders? That means the kidnappers could be their neighbors or acquaintances. Fortunately, the authorities quickly took action in that matter.
Times are really different now. As technology has upgraded, the bad guys have also upgraded their methods to prey on those they want to target.
But it's good that the thief was still caught; he should be punished so that he will regret for the rest of his life why he did that bad thing.
No one will ever know about those coins untill the victims themselves have either accidentally disclosed about them or have done it as a show off. They kidnapped because they were not qualified to hack the victims computer or mobile devices. This is why it is always recommended not to disclose to anyone about crypto holdings. You cannot trust anyone with your financial information even to your close friends.
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Extending your seed phrase with a passphrase can also help you with plausible deniability in a situation of a $5 wrench attack.
Have you ever been kidnapped and tortured?
Trust me probably 0.01% would not remember what they ate exactly 233 days ago at breakfast after being hit a few times over their fingers with a metal pipe, the moment you stand to be crippled for life you will tell them even the value you bought them for and even what friends of your have crypto too. Easy to say stuff but the moment you can see your broken bones through the skin the thing changes.
Also, a lot ignore how many things can give away you have crypto forget social media, forget hacks or stuff, you just meet with a guy for a p2p deal, somebody can track you, you buy or sell coins from the atm, somebody can tail you home, you order crypto stuff from a website, you buy gear or sell it on ebay, those guys know your address now. You order a pizza with coins, the cashier can see how many coins you have from the address you paid with and he knows your delivery address! ;)
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Extending your seed phrase with a passphrase can also help you with plausible deniability in a situation of a $5 wrench attack.
I think this is a good an valid point if you have at least some good funds in your wallet without passphrase.
Also, you need to use separate wallets, which doesnt show both balances simultaneously
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Have you ever been kidnapped and tortured?
Trust me probably 0.01% would not remember what they ate exactly 233 days ago at breakfast after being hit a few times over their fingers with a metal pipe, the moment you stand to be crippled for life you will tell them even the value you bought them for and even what friends of your have crypto too. Easy to say stuff but the moment you can see your broken bones through the skin the thing changes.
I know, all what you say is right, but that is the only solution i can offer to someone who needs a 0.01% chance of protecting themselves from a $5 wrench attack. It's not like it would save someone from kidnappers, but better to implement it, and see if there is an off chance that it helps.
If the attackers are aware somehow that you own a lot of coins, then there is no chance that it helps, but if you are unlucky to run into assailants, who had no prior knowledge that you own crypto, or who didn't come to rob crypto from you, but fiat, then it can help; as long as the base wallet has a good amount in BTC. 60% of your stash in passphrase protected address, then 40% in base wallet.
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It's good that he was caught and is going to be facing a minimum of seven years to a maximum of life. I hope those planning something like this won't get away with it. The $5 wrench attack is real and we need to be careful of our surroundings.
$150,000 is really a lot and I believe it can be planned or something.
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Really this is a modern robbery, the robbers also understand cryptocurrency. so they kidnap people who have large amounts of cryptocurrency assets. These robbers certainly also understand how to move cryptocurrency assets from one wallet to another. We have to be aware of this, so that other people don't know that we have crypto assets. So that the robbers don't have any evil intentions towards us.
But thankfully, if the robbers have been caught, I hope they get the punishment they deserve.
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Really this is a modern robbery, the robbers also understand cryptocurrency. so they kidnap people who have large amounts of cryptocurrency assets. These robbers certainly also understand how to move cryptocurrency assets from one wallet to another. We have to be aware of this, so that other people don't know that we have crypto assets. So that the robbers don't have any evil intentions towards us.
But thankfully, if the robbers have been caught, I hope they get the punishment they deserve.
It is really a modern robbery. I was wondering and also curious at how those rubbers got to know their victims have assets in n Crypto and planned their attacks. How did they get to know his home, who must have told them about their victims assets. Is it possible that this might have been as a result of information leakage through KYC or what? I believe he knows saying or talking about his assets would put him in trouble, so.what really happened that those rubbers got wind of his Crypto assets and information to attack him.
If you say that the rubbers have idea and knowledge on how to move Crypto currency then do you not think it might likely be a leak from KYC ? I curious because this act is very dangerous coupled with the fact that many Crypto organisations demand for KYC without properly keeping customers details safe under their custody.
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Really this is a modern robbery, the robbers also understand cryptocurrency. so they kidnap people who have large amounts of cryptocurrency assets. These robbers certainly also understand how to move cryptocurrency assets from one wallet to another.
It is easy to move crypto between wallets, a criminal who knows they can steal a lot of money from victims would take their time to study the basics of crypto, so it should be an easy thing for them.
If you say that the rubbers have idea and knowledge on how to move Crypto currency then do you not think it might likely be a leak from KYC ? I curious because this act is very dangerous coupled with the fact that many Crypto organisations demand for KYC without properly keeping customers details safe under their custody.
It could be, if you submit kyc that includes your home address and there is a data breach on that service, then surely you are at risk of a $5 wrench attack.
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If the attackers are aware somehow that you own a lot of coins, then there is no chance that it helps, but if you are unlucky to run into assailants, who had no prior knowledge that you own crypto, or who didn't come to rob crypto from you, but fiat, then it can help; as long as the base wallet has a good amount in BTC. 60% of your stash in passphrase protected address, then 40% in base wallet.
But if the attackers don't know you have crypto you could even have a notpassword-protected wallet since they won't be demanding anything from you, right? The moment they know you have it, that's the moment they will do everything to get it out of you and we're back again to the meme I posted on the first page, 10000 passwords won't let you when your bones start getting crushed one by one!
$150,000 is really a lot and I believe it can be planned or something.
Strangely enough, it's not by US standards:
The FBI reported that in 2022, the total average value of items stolen from residences during the daytime was $97,386
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If you say that the rubbers have idea and knowledge on how to move Crypto currency then do you not think it might likely be a leak from KYC ? I curious because this act is very dangerous coupled with the fact that many Crypto organisations demand for KYC without properly keeping customers details safe under their custody.
It could be, if you submit kyc that includes your home address and there is a data breach on that service, then surely you are at risk of a $5 wrench attack.
These days the rate at which crypto organisations get hacked is alarming. It is very annoying when such happens and the organisation just come out to day rubbish without any remorse to their inability to protect the details of their clientele. I would not be surprised this case is likely a result of data leakage from the organisation he might have done KYC with in the past.
Possibly he might have used a local crypto organisation within his jurisdiction which they can easily locate his residence to attack and rub him.
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This is another proof that privacy should be taken seriously to avoid something like this to happen. For security measures, even if they didn't know you have crypto doesn't mean you don't have to make it secured enough just because they don't know that you have crypto. As Stompix explained, even if you have strong security measures of your wallet but it s never strong enough if your bones are being crushed one by one. Another part comes in handy like not storing your crypto in one basket for them to take all of it once the robber acquired rhe password after broken bones.
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There is likely a possibility that they must have sent a phishing link to the victim without him knowing it
I don't think that it was a fishing link if not they don't need to attack him physically but they will just drain all his wallet with the information they got from his PC. If you don't tell anyone that you have bitcoin, no one will know because it does not shout in your wallet. This is why we should be careful and keep our crypto investment a secret from everyone apart from trusted family members. We also need not to disclose the amount of assets to the trusted person, because if he has a loud might he might tell his close friend that will tell some other some close friends and your crypto asset will be known to the public without your knowledge.
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This is another proof that privacy should be taken seriously to avoid something like this to happen.
Privacy is something we all need to take seriously. When your privacy is guaranteed, you are safe and have nothing to worry about but when there is a breach, anything can happen. This was the situation of the man attacked by the rubbers. Possibly, his crypto privacy was breached and it resulted to what he went through in the hands of the rubbers. Do you not think there is a possibility of leakage from where the Crypto was stored and looking at the fact that he was attacked at his home if I am not mistaken.
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Years ago I read a news story about a man who was murdered in his own home. That man used to write many posts on X/Twitter, showing off large amounts of cash he had earned from cryptocurrency trading. I don't remember that person's name, but I do remember the raw feeling I felt when reading the news. I understand that when someone makes a lot of money they want to change their life or improve it, but I think it is important to maintain discretion since we never know who is “watching or listening".
I know that the news at hand did not have such a tragic outcome and that the thieves have been imprisoned, but suddenly what happened years ago comes to mind.
I hope the full weight of justice falls on those thieves.
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And as per article:
He is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 11 and faces a mandatory minimum of seven years in prison and a maximum penalty of life in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
I doubt though that he will be sentence for life, probably 10+ years in prison. And this crew is genius at best, they were able to get accessed of their victims email and from then on, "case" it and make the move until the right now.
But even that, using Monero and other non-KYC exchanges, they were able to get caught by the authorities, so they could be sloppy as well and their job could have been out in the street and then someone snitches them to the government.
They are already monitoring them until they got arrested by the FBI trying to carry their next home invasion.
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I doubt though that he will be sentence for life, probably 10+ years in prison. And this crew is genius at best, they were able to get accessed of their victims email and from then on, "case" it and make the move until the right now.
But even that, using Monero and other non-KYC exchanges, they were able to get caught by the authorities, so they could be sloppy as well and their job could have been out in the street and then someone snitches them to the government.
They are already monitoring them until they got arrested by the FBI trying to carry their next home invasion.
Increases the case to keep a gun at your home, somewhere. These fellows are very dangerous as you have probably figured out, and there is no reason to think that there aren't more of them lurking around elsewhere. So get a loaded gun, secure it, and keep it in a safe place in case the worst were to happen, then you would at least be able to defend yourself from these people.
Pepper spray also comes in handy.
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While we may say justice well well served on this guy, let us stay more conscious with our Bitcoin holdings.
For goodness sake how did he knew his victims do have Bitcoin? I guess it is because they were not dedicated to keep their investment of Bitcoin privately.
I have come to understand that most of those who falls victim to physical attacks are mostly asa course that they shows their Worth in the society just to influence them with their wealths.
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When crypto already has value and even people who live a hedonistic life thanks to crypto, it opens up opportunities for any robber to enter and infiltrate... someone who robs cryptocurrency must also understand how to convert to FIAT currency, and most likely he knows that there is someone who is attracting attention to be targeted....
As far as possible from this news, we all have to start to be alert and pay attention to our surroundings, that there is no safe place and there are still many people who are jealous of other people's wealth... don't let a lot of your money be the deciding factor in the end of your life in the hands of robbers .. it's very detrimental to your family and also yourself, isn't it?
Thank you for this news notification... it is quite useful and can be used as a valuable lesson.
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This is another proof that privacy should be taken seriously to avoid something like this to happen. For security measures, even if they didn't know you have crypto doesn't mean you don't have to make it secured enough just because they don't know that you have crypto. As Stompix explained, even if you have strong security measures of your wallet but it s never strong enough if your bones are being crushed one by one. Another part comes in handy like not storing your crypto in one basket for them to take all of it once the robber acquired rhe password after broken bones.
- The government of every country should focus on this; in fact, it should not be ignored because thieves have upgraded their methods of stealing people. Then the cruelest thing here is that they know if crypto holders are the ones they are robbing or victimizing.
But it's good that he was caught and sentenced to years of imprisonment, and I hope that during the period that he will be in prison, it will teach a strong lesson in the life of a thief.
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This is another proof that privacy should be taken seriously to avoid something like this to happen. For security measures, even if they didn't know you have crypto doesn't mean you don't have to make it secured enough just because they don't know that you have crypto. As Stompix explained, even if you have strong security measures of your wallet but it s never strong enough if your bones are being crushed one by one. Another part comes in handy like not storing your crypto in one basket for them to take all of it once the robber acquired rhe password after broken bones.
- The government of every country should focus on this; in fact, it should not be ignored because thieves have upgraded their methods of stealing people. Then the cruelest thing here is that they know if crypto holders are the ones they are robbing or victimizing.
But it's good that he was caught and sentenced to years of imprisonment, and I hope that during the period that he will be in prison, it will teach a strong lesson in the life of a thief.
I am yet to get this cleared. How did the rubbers get to know he had such valued digital assets for them to have attempted to rob him. This is the question we are supposed to be asking because I believe he is not daft to start exposing himself when he knows the repercussion of such act if he eventually does such. What I been wondering is the fact that those rubbers were able to get such information about his crypto assets. Now the question is, How were they able to get such information about his crypto holdings, who informed them about it and who led them to know their victims residence.
And this question have been bothering me to ask too. Does the victim have an account with a local exchange in which he has done a KYC with them before? If yes do you not think something must have transpired for them to have conspired against him in attacking him? Lots of unanswered questions begging for answers.
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While we may say justice well well served on this guy, let us stay more conscious with our Bitcoin holdings.
For goodness sake how did he knew his victims do have Bitcoin? I guess it is because they were not dedicated to keep their investment of Bitcoin privately.
I have come to understand that most of those who falls victim to physical attacks are mostly asa course that they shows their Worth in the society just to influence them with their wealths.
This scenario could also be an inside job where people close to us provides information to their accomplices to plan and surprise us in a bad way. That actually happened a lot and I even heard and watched news here in my country wherein foreigners kidnap fellow foreigners in exchange for Bitcoins. So from that point of view I don't think we still has courage to show off on social media or from other people about our crypto investments so yeah the only way to survive hostilities and robberies is to stay low key .
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This is why security and privacy are the main cryptocurrencies. I think everyone involved in cryptocurrencies should maintain privacy. Because Bitcoin or any other fiduciary is a huge asset. And I don't think I should tell or inform anyone about my wealth. Because life is at risk. Of course, the kidnapper somehow already knew who had bitcoins and was targeting them. Either the victim is someone close to the kidnapper from whom the kidnapper would know through word of mouth or the victim is a victim of phishing. Everyone should take a lesson from this news that if you hold bitcoins or are involved in cryptocurrencies, keep these things private. And protect yourself from all types of phishing links and phishing sites.
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These days the rate at which crypto organisations get hacked is alarming. It is very annoying when such happens and the organisation just come out to day rubbish without any remorse to their inability to protect the details of their clientele.
Data breaches happens a lot in the crypto industry, and this is why members usually recommend that one should not submit kyc in the crypto world, and only use kyc-free services. Once you have passed kyc in a custodial service, you cannot foretell what would happen to your data, and if it will eventually be published in the dark web, it's scary.
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Mandatory meme
(https://www.talkimg.com/images/2024/06/27/h4zhZ.png)
Oh, and before somebody talks about faulting your wealth, I'm pretty sure everyone after making 1 million in crypto will keep staying in a one-bedroom apartment in a ghetto and drive a '93 vw golf to work at McDonald! Yeah, cause that's the reason everyone seeks profit!
This is amusing.. lol. If you can crack the code, then you can crack the owner. I'm glad the man was sentenced, and I hope that won't cause him to return and do worse things.
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I could have clicked through the link but to due to security reasons I wouldn't go further rather I will make my view here. You know if someone kidnapping people for bitcoin don't you think such person can be easily being tracked? Yes where did he sells of his bitcoin what exchange does he use to sell his identity could had been reveal earlier than this and if the wallet he uses to collect ransom where so open to people who would track to get his identity tracked through the exchange platform he converts his coin to sell to their currencies.
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These days the rate at which crypto organisations get hacked is alarming. It is very annoying when such happens and the organisation just come out to day rubbish without any remorse to their inability to protect the details of their clientele.
Data breaches happens a lot in the crypto industry, and this is why members usually recommend that one should not submit kyc in the crypto world, and only use kyc-free services. Once you have passed kyc in a custodial service, you cannot foretell what would happen to your data, and if it will eventually be published in the dark web, it's scary.
I agree with your opinion here. You see the truth is that this looks like a black mail in the sense that it looks this way; we have what you want with good quality and features and you know what, for you to have it or use it, you will have to give us this and this so that you will be able to have them all or access it and in so doing they get what they want enticing the people who don't mind giving them all their details.
This is what happens with third parties and as such our safety and privacy is not guaranteed as they too can not protect their organisation from hackers which makes it more vulnerable to the under or dark world if you may like.
Using a KYC free platform too has it's own disadvantages too which would leave you wondering if anything happens to your assets. This is just the situation and that is why most people prefer to d KYC and want to have who to hold responsible for the loss of their assets than keeping it under their own custody and possibly losing everything to hackers and scammers.
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This man had a bunch of henchmen who kidnapped people inside their own homes in order to rob them and extorted them for their bitcoins and other crypto.
This is a crime and whatever it is he deserves to be jailed. And this is also a concern for all of us that crime can occur anytime and anywhere as long as there is an opportunity. Not only that, crimes also occur because someone knows that we have something that is very valuable and moreover related to money, assets that can be cashed in, and other things that can be obtained or controlled more easily.
So, this is why we are often told that we must be careful and vigilant about anything, especially the assets we own. Making sure to maintain confidentiality and privacy is the best thing we can do as an effort to protect our assets and our lives.
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This man had a bunch of henchmen who kidnapped people inside their own homes in order to rob them and extorted them for their bitcoins and other crypto.
This is a crime and whatever it is he deserves to be jailed. And this is also a concern for all of us that crime can occur anytime and anywhere as long as there is an opportunity. Not only that, crimes also occur because someone knows that we have something that is very valuable and moreover related to money, assets that can be cashed in, and other things that can be obtained or controlled more easily.
So, this is why we are often told that we must be careful and vigilant about anything, especially the assets we own. Making sure to maintain confidentiality and privacy is the best thing we can do as an effort to protect our assets and our lives.
We can't really distinguished the crime now, everyone is a target including crypto enthusiast or Bitcoin holder and we really need to be conscious to whom we talk in public as there are a lot of criminals lurking and listening and if they really found out that we are rich and holding big amounts of crypto, then for sure one of this days, they are using to used this $5 wrench attack.
Vigilant yes, but more over, we shouldn't be talking about crypto in public or even flashing it out like having a T-shirt with Bitcoin sign, or your car, with a Bitcoin tag.
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The $5 wrench attack is real and we need to be careful of our surroundings.
I guess living in a place where there's literally no one that knows about cryptocurrency is a "blessing in disguise" for me since they don't know how to steal my cryptocurrencies at first place.
On the flipside, I'm not feeling complacent at all, and still securing my assets and my seed phrases as well. I mean we don't know when crimes can happen. This $5 is the cheapest way and yet the most dangerous way of robbing assets from other investors. This is why I'm not sharing anything about my portfolio although I'm sharing some information if needed. Let's be safe, and don't brag our assets for the sake of our safety. :)
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You know if someone kidnapping people for bitcoin don't you think such person can be easily being tracked? Yes where did he sells of his bitcoin what exchange does he use to sell his identity could had been reveal earlier than this and if the wallet he uses to collect ransom where so open to people who would track to get his identity tracked through the exchange platform he converts his coin to sell to their currencies.
Thieves who steal BTC are smarter than that, after taking your coins in a $5 wrench attacker, the attacker receives it in their self custodial wallet, they surely would not receive it in a custodial wallet. From there they pass it through a mixer or CoinJoin, all of these to obfuscate the origin of the coins, at this point it is almost impossible to trace the coins anymore.
The attacker would probably never use a custodial service in all the process, and can convert the BTC to fiat in a p2p exchange or any p2p trade.
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I am yet to get this cleared. How did the rubbers get to know he had such valued digital assets for them to have attempted to rob him.
I could have clicked through the link but to due to security reasons I wouldn't go further rather I will make my view here.
Here is a more in-depth article about the whole case but be ready for some really bad stuff:
https://www.wired.com/story/crypto-home-invasion-crime-ring/
It's far more complicated, the gang was specialized in sim swaps then changed to violent robberies, a lot of victims were from their former sim swapping victims.
In their first break-in, according to the prosecution's plea document, the group targeted the same victim from whom Seemungal had already stolen more than $3 million via SIM swapping, seeking to steal another $500,000 in crypto that she had managed to retain.
As for some more gruesome details:
Just a few days before Christmas of 2022, the Texas group broke into their target's home, bound his family members' hands with zip ties, and repeatedly hit him in the face demanding he give them access to his cryptocurrency. Prosecutors say they shoved knives and forks under his mother's fingernails and struck her in the face with a gun.
Does anyone think they could resist this?
I guess living in a place where there's literally no one that knows about cryptocurrency is a "blessing in disguise" for me since they don't know how to steal my cryptocurrencies at first place.
Well, interesting fact, these guys traveled from NY to Texas, so pretty much like from Pakistan to Burma ;)