Another day and another set of Bitcoin thieves have been caught. This time around several thieves from Bulgaria have been arrested following the theft of $5 million in Bitcoin. The group hacked into various wallets after compromising the email accounts of exchange users. From there they were able to route the funds to their own Bitcoin wallets, leaving the victims with a large hole in their pockets. Police managed to recover $3 million of the funds and a luxury car worth an estimated $32,000. The remaining funds have yet to be found, but authorities are said to be close to locating them.
Amateurs Stealing Crypto
We don’t condone the theft of crypto, but if you’re going to do it, at least do it properly. Along with every other thief that has ever been caught stealing Bitcoin, these thieves skipped the most important step in covering their tracks – using a mixer. If the Bitcoin thieves used a mixer, the transaction paths would be lost forever, meaning nobody can trace the cryptos from the victim’s wallet to the thief’s – it’s really that simple. There is a lot of misconception that crypto is totally anonymous, but in fact it’s not at all. If you use a fiat on/off ramp, you are known to the authorities at that point. All they have to do is trace the funds that were stolen until the fiat off-ramp and then they can catch you.
Crypto Thefts Increasing
Crypto is presenting thieves with a new opportunity to strike it rich fairly quickly. Due to the lack of technical knowledge and common sense of some people, it’s easier than ever before to steal cryptos. A woman in Australia recently stole 100,000 XRP from an older gentleman in what is being seen as a crime of crypto passion. Unfortunately for the man, he missed the XRP all-time high and is left with huge losses thanks to the lady in question.
Hackers Stepping Becoming More Savvy
Hackers are starting to improve their technical skills and take crypto theft to the next level. A group of unknown hackers managed to break into Trade.io’s cold storage system and empty the exchange’s account. It’s the first time a cold storage that uses a bank’s safety deposit box has been hacked, and investigators are still scratching their heads over how the hackers managed to achieve such a feat. The bank reported that the box hasn’t been tampered with, making the hack even more impressive.
Exchanges and police are stepping up their efforts to help prevent attacks like this happening in the future, but for now these hackers are here to stay. Until hackers become more anonymity conscious and learn to conceal stolen funds, they will always get caught. Exchanges are also beginning to support users who have had funds stolen, meaning you can rest a bit more easily at night should trouble strike.
