Bitcoin Theft stories to make your toes curl!

[krogothmanhattan]

 There is an old saying that goes

             " Learn from other peoples mistakes"

   What is the worst thing that can happen to a bitcoiner?

    To me its to lose Bitcoins either by carelessly sending it into oblivion, losing a wallets private keys,
    seed words or being infected with a malware or virus, to only see your btc stolen from you.

    That being said, I compiled a bunch of articles on thefts and exchange hacks that will make you aware of what is out there.
    The higher BTC climbs the more of a target all of us bitcoiners will become to malicious people.
 
    From MTGOXs downfall to the latest Coincheck hacking, from malware exchanging your btc send btc address at the last minute to private keys stolen from pcs.

    I hope you enjoy the read. I compiled them all on my website in the Bitcoin Theft section  

                http://www.cryptocoinscollection.com/articles/articles/index4.html

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[mk4]

It's really unbelievable how careless can some people be. I've been a member of a few crypto/bitcoin groups on Facebook and I've seen a lot of posts on people complaining because they lost their bitcoin. Sometimes even worth half a million dollars. How? One dude saved his recovery seed on an unencrypted .txt file on his desktop and his computer somewhat got compromised. *sigh*

Cool site by the way.

[krogothmanhattan]

It's really unbelievable how careless can some people be. I've been a member of a few crypto/bitcoin groups on Facebook and I've seen a lot of posts on people complaining because they lost their bitcoin. Sometimes even worth half a million dollars. How? One dude saved his recovery seed on an unencrypted .txt file on his desktop and his computer somewhat got compromised. *sigh*

Cool site by the way.

Yes you are right...everyone thinks they will never be compromised.

Thanks

[MintDice]

A pretty big problem would be being scammed or hacked...someone stealing your money because you didn't have the knowledge on how to avoid it. It's good to know what you're getting yourself into and how to avoid those problems!

[lauranaura67]

I guess you can't really protect yourself from this things.
But what are the odds that you get scammed? That would be interesting to know.
By the way it's interesting site. Will definitely read all of it.

[squatter]

I guess you can't really protect yourself from this things.

Yes, you can. The OP cites exchange hacks/collapses specifically -- you can protect yourself from those by not storing money on exchanges. When you want to sell, withdraw the fiat money immediately.

Most of your coins should be in cold storage. No online connection makes hackers and malware less of an issue. Encrypted wallets on flash drives and paper wallets are common methods for storage. Be sure to make multiple backups and keep them safe from the elements.

But what are the odds that you get scammed? That would be interesting to know.
By the way it's interesting site. Will definitely read all of it.

The biggest pitfalls are social engineering and phishing attacks. If you are good at recognizing suspicious emails, etc. and you don't download untrusted files or visit risky websites, it's pretty unlikely you'll fall prey to a malware attack.

[lauranaura67]

I guess you can't really protect yourself from this things.

Yes, you can. The OP cites exchange hacks/collapses specifically -- you can protect yourself from those by not storing money on exchanges. When you want to sell, withdraw the fiat money immediately.

Most of your coins should be in cold storage. No online connection makes hackers and malware less of an issue. Encrypted wallets on flash drives and paper wallets are common methods for storage. Be sure to make multiple backups and keep them safe from the elements.

But what are the odds that you get scammed? That would be interesting to know.
By the way it's interesting site. Will definitely read all of it.

The biggest pitfalls are social engineering and phishing attacks. If you are good at recognizing suspicious emails, etc. and you don't download untrusted files or visit risky websites, it's pretty unlikely you'll fall prey to a malware attack.

Yes I get your point but aren't cold storage and paper/hardware wallets good for long term investing or hodling and not for trading?
Isn't that too much of a hassle for a daily trader?
Also shouldn't phishing/suspicious e-mails/etc. be resolved on some systematic level? I mean if your antivirus can block connection to some bad site, why can't yahoo or gmail do the same for e-mails? They already know what's written inside of your mail and they can scan for malware-ous links.

[BQ]

I guess you can't really protect yourself from this things.

Yes, you can. The OP cites exchange hacks/collapses specifically -- you can protect yourself from those by not storing money on exchanges. When you want to sell, withdraw the fiat money immediately.

Most of your coins should be in cold storage. No online connection makes hackers and malware less of an issue. Encrypted wallets on flash drives and paper wallets are common methods for storage. Be sure to make multiple backups and keep them safe from the elements.

But what are the odds that you get scammed? That would be interesting to know.
By the way it's interesting site. Will definitely read all of it.

The biggest pitfalls are social engineering and phishing attacks. If you are good at recognizing suspicious emails, etc. and you don't download untrusted files or visit risky websites, it's pretty unlikely you'll fall prey to a malware attack.

Yes I get your point but aren't cold storage and paper/hardware wallets good for long term investing or hodling and not for trading?
Isn't that too much of a hassle for a daily trader?
Also shouldn't phishing/suspicious e-mails/etc. be resolved on some systematic level? I mean if your antivirus can block connection to some bad site, why can't yahoo or gmail do the same for e-mails? They already know what's written inside of your mail and they can scan for malware-ous links.

are you trading everything you own every day?
it's up to you how far you go to secure your funds, just don't be disappointed if something happens and you knew you didn't take the full security measures :/

[lauranaura67]

are you trading everything you own every day?
it's up to you how far you go to secure your funds, just don't be disappointed if something happens and you knew you didn't take the full security measures :/

With half of it.  
It's true what are you saying but it shouldn't be that way.  
I hope they invent some easier and more secure way soon.

[squatter]

Yes I get your point but aren't cold storage and paper/hardware wallets good for long term investing or hodling and not for trading?

Isn't that too much of a hassle for a daily trader?

If you're scalp trading many times a day, you need to keep funds on the exchange. That's one of the reasons why scalping is risky on top of being a waste of time.

Otherwise, you can withdraw coins for as long as you plan to hold them. Personally, I only swing trade a dozen times a year or less, so I rarely have money on an exchange. I withdraw my money when the trade is executed.

Whatever you do, don't treat the exchange like a wallet. Don't use it to store money. If you're engaged in a trade, fine. But if not, you're taking needless risk.

Also shouldn't phishing/suspicious e-mails/etc. be resolved on some systematic level? I mean if your antivirus can block connection to some bad site, why can't yahoo or gmail do the same for e-mails?

No third party service can possibly prevent all phishing/suspicious e-mails. That's crazy. It's your responsibility to be vigilant.

They already know what's written inside of your mail and they can scan for malware-ous links.

Only once they've been reported, analyzed and flagged within their system. In the meantime, you might get hacked...

[ukloonion]

There was a recent thread on this forum how 1 person lost his entire life savings by downloading a modified electrum wallet that sent his 13 bitcoins to another address. We have to double check everything we do, even experienced traders can get scammed.

[squatter]

There was a recent thread on this forum how 1 person lost his entire life savings by downloading a modified electrum wallet that sent his 13 bitcoins to another address. We have to double check everything we do, even experienced traders can get scammed.

The lesson to take away from that is the old adage: "Don't put all your eggs in one basket." If you keep all your coins in one place, you could lose everything at once.

Consider keeping multiple wallets that use multiple storage mediums (including cold storage), then spread your wealth among them. You certainly don't want to keep all your coins on an internet-connected machine. Even if you maintain good practices and encrypt your online wallet, it can be compromised.