Bitcoins were stolen from your wallet. How to store Bitcoin so it doesn't get stolen? Fraud to steal bitcoins
Eat different ways how to steal bitcoin. Using several methods, unscrupulous companies steal your bitcoins. Let's look at the most common options.
How to steal Bitcoin from a wallet
Since the beginning of the opening of companies to the industry, there have been complaints from customers that their bitcoins were stolen from them, and technical support is unable to resolve the problem.
If you have any amount of bitcoins, you need to store them somewhere. You contact a company that provides a platform for creating . Crypto wallet providers try to make the procedure for organizing and managing accounts as easy as possible; for this purpose, keys are often stored in the system.
- It's possible that some companies are abusing the fact that they have access to your private key. They simply transfer clients' funds to other accounts.
- Perhaps losses and lack of enrollment are the result of weak software and errors. Because often, after proceedings, the money is restored.
Complaints this kind are found in the address of any company specializing in the organization for bitcoins. It is worth considering here that some of the complaints are the machinations of competitors. Traditionally, large payment systems for virtual currencies that have been operating for several years are valued by their customers.
The digital industry itself is quite young, like most service firms for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Many companies are less than five years old, which is not enough time to build a strong reputation.
The risks are really greatest when the user decides to trust a new company, or when the owners of the system offer too attractive conditions, such as low commissions and benefits, more profitable than those existing on the market.
How can you steal bitcoins during an exchange?
Sometimes wallets are hacked, private keys are obtained and replaced with their own.
Like wallets, services usually have access to private keys for ease of transactions. It is much easier to complete transactions when the exchanger stores your private key. If such a service is hacked or the organizers decide to stop operations and steal money, there is little you can do to fix it.
You should look for a reliable exchange company by studying reviews and comments on forums and thematic sites.
How else can you steal bitcoins?
A non-existent product from unscrupulous counterparties is another way to steal bitcoins.
There is no return of money in the cryptosystem; a completed transaction is irreversible. If the seller decides not to ship the item you purchased or refund your money, there is nothing you can do. You will simply become a victim of a scam organized to steal bitcoins.
If the private key is stored on your computer, and a hacker breaks in and finds the keys, he will gain access to your account and can steal bitcoins. The attacker can be either a person or a spyware program.
Of course, you can steal keys stored on paper or a flash drive. Especially from a careless, gullible owner.
Thus, the most common way to steal bitcoins is to gain access to your private key.
The question of how to steal Bitcoin worries not only cybercriminals, but also cryptocurrency owners. After all, “who is forewarned is forearmed.”
It is not uncommon to hear about cases of bitcoin theft. It all started in 2011, when the first major victim of hackers was an ordinary user with the nickname Allinvain. After this, users of the MyBitcoin service, which previously functioned as online wallet. total amount stolen bitcoins amounted to one million dollars. Unfortunately, there are quite a lot of similar examples. And the most recent case, which caused a wide resonance, was the robbery of the Mt.Gox exchange, whose clients lost, total, eight hundred thousand bitcoins.
The fact that Bitcoin owners are independently responsible for their savings is important feature cryptocurrencies. Complete freedom to manage digital currency has only one danger - the risk of losing savings as a result of an error remains. For example, you can forever lose your savings by sending a large sum not where it should be. As a rule, only newcomers to the topic of cryptocurrencies encounter such situations. But every day, cybercriminals are becoming more skillful, coming up with new ways to steal bitcoins. Therefore even experienced users may become victims of scammers.
Let's look at the most popular methods of stealing cryptocurrency today.
Hacker programs
The use of ransomware is one of the most profitable methods Bitcoin theft. This method is far from new, but most hackers prefer to follow a well-established scheme:
· the virus gets onto the user's computer;
· the program encrypts files on the computer;
· the program asks the user to pay a ransom to decrypt the files.
The victims of such a program can be not only large companies, but also regular users. Therefore, it is very important to do it in a timely manner backups your files, do not open suspicious or unfamiliar programs and use a reliable antivirus.
Fake wallets
This method of stealing bitcoins is not very common, but many cryptocurrency owners have already become its victims. A fake wallet is an application that looks exactly like an existing wallet. Even the logo and interface are copied. Some wallets were made so convincingly that they even managed to pass verification in the App Store.
By storing your savings in such a wallet, you can lose them at any moment. Therefore, it is recommended to download applications only from trusted sources. You can verify the reliability of your wallet by contacting members of communities such as Bitcointalk or Reddit.
Fake cryptocurrencies
Let's say you regularly use a trusted BTS exchange site and buy this cryptocurrency, knowing everything about it. But what if you are offered to buy an unknown digital currency at a low price, promising that its value will increase several times in the near future? It sounds dubious, but many users have already become victims of this type of fraud. Thus, the Onecoin company offered to mine its own cryptocurrency, convincing that very soon it would become popular and begin to generate income for its owners. After some time, it turned out that the Onecoin blockchain or network of miners did not exist at all.
If you want to check a cryptocurrency before purchasing, use the sites Coinmarketcap or CryptoCompare. This way you can be confident in the reliability of your investment.
Fraudulent ICOs
This method of deceiving users is rapidly gaining momentum. Its essence is that Bitcoin owners are offered to pay for tokens as part of a pre-sale when the project is launched. From the outside it looks very convincing, because everyone knows that ICOs have helped many trusted companies raise millions of dollars.
To avoid becoming a victim of scammers, you need to carefully study all the information on the project website and collect as much information as possible about the company.
Phishing
If Bitcoins are stolen from a wallet, it is not possible to return the money in 99% of cases, because transactions in the cryptocurrency network are irreversible. In such a situation, it is important to do two things - come to terms with and understand the causes of the problem so that it does not happen again in the future. Let’s look at how funds are stolen from wallets today, highlight high-profile cases in 2018, and give recommendations on how to reliably protect cryptocurrency from theft.
How are Bitcoins stolen from wallets?
Over the past four years, attackers have hacked dozens of Bitcoin wallets and stolen many thousands of BTC from them. In this case, not only Bitcoin owners suffer, but also users of other cryptocurrencies. For example, in 2017, more than 30,000 people suffered from fraudulent activities and were left without electronic currency Ethereum. On average, each victim lost about 7.5 thousand dollars. The growing number of thefts is explained by several reasons - the carelessness of owners, the presence weak points in third-party services, as well as insufficient protection of some programs for storing cryptocurrency.
It is important to understand that Bitcoin does not have physical basis, so it won’t be possible to steal it in the usual sense (like cash). This is only possible if you have access to the public and private key. If the user is careful, the likelihood of theft is minimal or non-existent. Below we will look at the weaknesses that attackers take advantage of.
Theft from online wallets
A common situation when cryptocurrency disappears from wallets third party services. People accumulate virtual money and are forced to store it somewhere. One of the options - special platforms, providing a basis for creating . The creators of such resources do everything possible to simplify the storage process and make using money convenient. In this case, the keys are in the system.
The following reasons for loss of funds are possible:
- The company that holds the user's money is abusing its power. She takes advantage of the fact that she has access to secret keys - she steals and transfers a certain amount to other accounts.
- The program of the service that stores funds contains errors that are exploited by attackers. If the exchange values reputation, it will deal with the problem and return the stolen money.
Theft during exchange
When considering ways to steal Bitcoins from wallets, it is worth paying attention to cases with conversion virtual currency. It is known that exchange services gain access to private keys to increase speed and convenience. Exchange operation virtual money goes faster if the personal key is in the service that carries out the operation. But there is another side to the coin.
If the site is hacked, confidential information ends up in the hands of attackers. In addition, the company itself may decide to terminate its activities with the subsequent theft of customer money. In such a situation, it is unlikely that you will be able to return the funds. To avoid problems, it is important to look for reliable exchangers, which have been operating on the market for a long time, can boast of a good reputation and positive reviews.
Phishing
Experts claim that most of the thefts of cryptocurrency occur due to social phishing - one of the ways to “fish out” personal data from the user. The point is simple. A letter is sent to the Bitcoin owner’s e-mail address, and it contains a link to a resource where you need to enter confidential information. If you do not pay attention to the resource address, you can go to a “fake” site and literally give your personal information into the hands of attackers. Many users know that clicking on suspicious links is dangerous. But there is also a category of careless cryptocurrency owners who fall for such a bait.
One of the types of phishing is the creation of fake ICO resources, as well as the replacement of wallets. Before performing any actions, it is important to check the correspondence of the address in official sources. You should not invest funds through links received within instant messengers or chats.
Financial pyramids
Participants in financial pyramids often suffer from the actions of criminals. A famous case is OpenCoin, which was positioned as major project, but in practice it turned out to be a platform for extorting funds from gullible cryptocurrency owners. The mentioned service had nothing - neither a blockchain, nor a community of cryptocurrency network participants. At the same time, the creators of the project assured people of the prospects of investing in the project.
You should never invest money based on recommendations from friends. More precisely, it is necessary to take information into account, but it is advisable to think only with your head. You should not pay attention to beautiful stories, purchased reviews or drawn in special programs graphs showing potential profit growth.
If you are persuaded to invest in any project, this is an obvious and main feature financial pyramid. Potential clients lured by the standard promise of maximum profit with minimal risk. Interest is paid by new investors. As soon as the influx of users stops, payments stop, and the project disappears altogether. To avoid such risks, it is recommended to buy Bitcoin only through well-known exchange platforms.
Theft through banks
A common case of Bitcoin theft occurs during international transactions. The point is simple. The second party to the transaction talks about the difficulties of buying Bitcoin in their country and presses on the pity of the potential seller. She offers to purchase virtual money at the best exchange rate. At the same time, the swindler assures that he is ready to be the first to transfer the required amount.
At first glance, the method is ideal and there are no risks. But that's not true. If you study the forums, many people have lost a lot of money on this type of “cooperation”. After transferring money to the bank account, the Bitcoin seller sends the cryptocurrency to the buyer’s wallet. It may seem like the deal has been successfully completed, but the story is just beginning. The second party writes a statement to the police about the theft of personal data on a bank account and a strange transfer to a bank account in another state. As a result, the financial institution blocks the transaction and returns the funds to the original owner. In such a situation, it is unlikely that you will be able to get your money back.
Other methods
There are more and more cases where attackers have stolen money from a Bitcoin wallet. People rely on available protection and “maybe.” Many are confident that troubles will pass them by. It is precisely this kind of carelessness that leads to problems. In addition to the options considered, there are other hacking methods:
- Through Wi-Fi network. There are known cases when a user connected to wireless network through an unsecured connection and lost money. In this scenario, the attacker completely controls the process of transferring funds and easily steals personal data.
- Theft from a computer. Often, users do not care about protecting their own PC from Trojans and viruses, which is why the computer is hacked and the secret key may end up in the hands of an attacker.
- Purchasing a non-existent product. Increasingly, situations occur when a person buys a product, but does not receive it in return. In this case, it will no longer be possible to return the cryptocurrency.
- Theft of a flash drive or paper with a private key. User carelessness often knows no bounds. People store funds on a flash drive or paper, but do not care about their safety. If the carrier falls into the hands of a criminal, the stolen coins cannot be returned.
Which wallets should I use to protect myself from Bitcoin theft?
People who decide to invest in cryptocurrency should carefully choose a wallet. It is worth noting that there are two types of storage facilities (based on the number of cryptocurrencies available for storage) - mono- and multi-currency. The first are intended only for one type of virtual money, and the second can store several types of coins.
Further, all wallets are divided into “hot” and “cold”. In the first case, the computer with the keys is always connected to the network. This method is convenient if you need to frequently carry out transactions with cryptocurrency (exchange, sale, sending to). In the second situation, we are talking about a storage facility that is not accessible from the outside. This method increases the level of security, but creates a number of inconveniences when you need to urgently transfer funds.
Online wallets
The easiest way to store virtual currency is to use the services of a special exchange platform or service that is ready to play the role of an online wallet. Examples are the Blockchain and Cryptonator services. This method is convenient, but a third-party site is always at risk. It can be hacked, attacked or blocked at any time.
In addition, there remains a risk that the organizers themselves will decide to terminate the activities of the site (without returning money to the owners). There also remains a risk of bankruptcy. In such wallets it is worth storing small amounts that are used for trading, and withdrawing the main money to “cold” wallets. As a last resort, it is recommended to enable 2-factor authentication and undergo verification to reduce the risk of theft.
Mobile and software wallets
A more reliable solution is to spend a little time and install a desktop or mobile wallet. Lost Bitcoins in such wallets are rare, because the level of protection from attackers is higher. Personal keys stored on a personal device, which ensures greater security. But the risk of hacking still remains, because the PC or phone on which the storage is installed is connected to the Internet.
Popular wallet options include Exodus, Jaxx, Electrum and others. The advantage of these is that they do not require users to register or undergo identity verification, which ensures complete confidentiality. In this case, responsibility for the safety of funds rests with the owner himself. If you lose your password or SEED phrase, you will not be able to restore your funds.
Hardware wallets
A more reliable storage option is to purchase, which looks like a flash drive and implies a “cold” option for saving money (without connecting to the Internet). A well-known device - Ledger Nano S, which is easy to use and safe. It can store not only Bitcoins, but also a number of other virtual coins.
The wallet is connected via USB and is protected by a PIN and a special phrase that is generated by the device itself using a PC. If the device is lost or damaged, this information helps you get your money back.
There are other hardware wallets - Trezor and KipKey, but their use is less secure. Recently, information appeared on the Internet about the presence of weaknesses in ST32F05 microprocessors, which undermined confidence in such wallets.
Paper storage
Many are sure that the most reliable option for long-term storage is, which is easy to do through special service walletgenerator.net. The algorithm of actions is to select a cryptocurrency and generate keys (private and public) using a script, and then print them on a sheet of paper.
Despite the reliability of the method, other problems are possible. Increasingly, complaints like “I lost my Bitcoin wallet, what should I do?” appear on forums. In most cases, we are talking about paper storage, the loss of which is unacceptable.
In conclusion, we note that with the approval of the new Russian bill on cryptocurrencies, state wallets may appear as early as 2018. The bottom line is that the Ministry of Finance plans to prohibit transactions with cryptocurrency directly, without official intermediaries. The latter will precisely perform the function of state crypto-wallets. What fate will befall the existing storage facilities is still unknown.
How are Bitcoins stolen from wallets in 2018?
Despite the improvement of the cryptocurrency network, the theft of Bitcoin from user storage does not stop. Let us highlight a number of thematic news for 2018 regarding major losses in the cryptocurrency sector:
- On February 16, news appeared that a group of hackers from Ukraine, with the help of Google, stole $50 million worth of BTC. For theft, phishing resources were used that accurately duplicated the blockchain.info wallet. Interestingly, fake sites were displayed not only in the standard search results, but also in Google advertising.
- On April 17, news appeared that one blogger from the United States lost two million dollars during an online broadcast on YouTube. The victim of the attackers was Jan Balina, who live talked about virtual money and ICO. The blogger tried to cancel the scammers' operation, but his actions did not bring results. After some time, Balina confirmed that his money had indeed been stolen. As Yang himself admitted, the reason was the use old email, allowing you to reset your password. In addition, the private and public keys to the cryptocurrency were in cloud service Evernote, which made it easier to hack wallets.
- On April 16, Internet users learned about the theft of $3.5 million from one of the Indian cryptocurrency exchanges. A total of 438 Bitcoins were stolen. According to representatives of the site, the money was lost due to the theft of private keys.
- On April 30, information appeared that Pavel Durov suffered from attackers, who was stolen Bitcoin through a fake Twitter account. In particular, hackers hacked the Twitter of the Club 8 group from Sweden and turned it into the CEO’s Telegram account. The situation occurred immediately after problems arose with the messenger. In discussions on behalf of Durov, the attackers wrote thanks to Twitter users for their patience and offered to participate in the cryptocurrency draw accordingly. At the same time, users had to send small amounts to certain wallets. 30 minutes was enough to lure out about 1 Bitcoin.
What to do if Bitcoins are stolen from your wallet and how to protect the funds?
It is important to understand that problems with cryptocurrency theft can affect all Internet users. Unfortunately, the question - what to do if Bitcoins are stolen from your wallet - is more rhetorical. It is impossible to return funds if the identity of the attacker is unknown. The exception is when the victim managed to find out the name of the thief, or the problem arose due to hacking of the exchange platform. To save their reputation, exchanges solve the problem themselves and return the money.
In other cases, users must take care of capital and protect cryptocurrency from strangers. Let's highlight the main options:
- Storage secret keys offline. An alternative is to print such a key on paper or use the capabilities of CryptoHex (one of the innovations in the cryptocurrency industry). Unlike paper media, CryptoHex cannot be destroyed, because the product is made of metal and is not afraid of moisture and fire.
- Usage secure connection. One way to protect yourself is to use secure Wi-Fi. It's better to connect via home network, the password for which no one else knows. Of course, with this approach, the likelihood of a cyber attack remains, but it is minimal.
- Application of reliable antivirus system and its update. It is important to understand that most Bitcoin thefts are carried out using viruses or worms.
- Installation strong passwords on Bitcoin wallets. Important to use security code, which is difficult to hack. You should not use your date of birth, the names of your relatives, or other passwords that are easy to calculate logically.
- Follow links carefully. To protect your money, you should not follow suspicious URLs (links) that come in chats or on mailboxes. Fraudsters often create fake websites that look no different from the real ones. After entering information on such a resource, the information (including personal keys) may end up in the hands of attackers.
How to protect Bitcoins and cryptocurrency in general from theft, watch the following video:
Recently, someone managed to pull off the largest theft in history of bitcoins, a virtual currency that can be called the equivalent of “cash” on the Internet. - the market for illegal drugs as well as the Bitcoin exchange Mt.Gox. This could have been done by hackers or someone with inside access, but one way or another, as a result of these actions, Sheep Marketplace and Mt.Gox clients lost $800 million worth of bitcoins.
Cases of Bitcoin theft are no longer something special. In June 2011, a certain user with the nickname Allinvain became a victim, probably the very first grand theft of all previously recorded. “I want to kill myself,” he wrote then.
Another way to launder money is to do it the same way as many others: spend it at Satoshi Dice or another Bitcoin casino.
Grow rich
Now you have some clean bitcoins (let's hope you have a lot of them!) and you have your eye on a villa in the South of France. Unfortunately, its owner does not accept bitcoins. Like most merchants around the world, she prefers to pay in a government-approved currency, preferably the euro.
Therefore, now you need to exchange your bitcoins for euros. However, you own big amount bitcoins. If you were, say, the owner of Sheep Marketplace, you would have 100 million worth of bitcoins. The Bitcoin economy is still small and relatively illiquid. There are not many people in the world who can immediately pay you for that many Bitcoins. Moreover, a transaction of this magnitude is bound to raise alarm bells. Moreover, hiding your identity becomes much more difficult when it comes to Bitcoin exchange to another currency. Most exchanges require some identification information. In addition, you will at least need a bank account where you will store your euros.
It's time to get creative. There are several ways to cash out a ton of Bitcoin while remaining anonymous. You might, for example, find a wealthy buyer who is willing to accept bitcoins without verifying your identity in exchange for a discount in price. However The best way protect yourself - stay patient. Cash out your bitcoins in a series of transactions over a period of weeks, or ideally months or even years, to avoid attracting either the suspicions of those monitoring your transaction history or the suspicions of the real authorities who might wonder where you suddenly came into possession of millions of dollars.
OK it's all over Now. Enjoy your new life in France.
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