[2018-03-03] Thieves Steal 600 Bitcoin Mining Computers

[ivanpoldark]

The largest theft in Iceland’s history occurred recently when thieves stole 600 computers that were used for Bitcoin mining from data centers.

When one hears of a crime ring pulling off major heists, the least likely location for such a circumstance would be the island nation of Iceland. The sparsely populated country of 348,680 people is most famous for being the birthplace of Bjork. However, Iceland was recently hit with its biggest crime wave ever as thieves stole 600 computers used for Bitcoin mining.

CRYPTO CRIMINAL BEHAVIOUR

A gang of thieves orchestrated four rounds of thefts of computers used for Bitcoin mining. Police state that the computers were stolen from data centers in Iceland and that the crime wave is the largest one in the country’s history.

Two of the thefts took place on the Reykjanes peninsula, The police commissioner there, Olafur Helgi Kjartansson, says:

This is a grand theft on a scale unseen before. Everything points to this being a highly organized crime.

Three of the burglaries took place in December while the fourth one happened in January. All told, the 600 computers are worth a combined $2 million. Of course, they could be used to generate far more money than that if they’re used for Bitcoin mining.

ARMY OF BITCOIN

Icelanders are calling the crimes the “Big Bitcoin Heist.” A total of 11 people have been arrested so far, with one of those detained being a security guard. Two of those arrested have been ordered to remain in custody by a judge.

None of the stolen 600 computers have been found yet. Police are asking power companies to report any suspicious electric consumption in order to, hopefully, locate the computers if they’re used to mine for cryptocurrency.

While definitely tiny by population standards, Iceland is becoming a hotspot for cryptocurrency miners. Energy is cheap in Iceland due to country’s geothermal and hydroelectric power plants. This has resulted in an influx of crypto miners moving into the country in order to lower their costs.

One wonders how the thieves plan on utilizing their stolen goods. Firing up 600 computers will definitely catch the attention of power companies, who will then alert the police. It may be that they’ll be moved out of the country to be sold.

http://bitcoinist.com/thieves-steal-600-bitcoin-mining-computers/

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[RamonBTC]

That’s insane, 600 computers and nothing still being recover. How could that be possible? to hide hundreds of computers without anyone notices it, there is something that is hidden to the public of this crime. Two different occasions within a span of a year, there is someone behind it that is connected to that data center. An employee that is part of an inside job or an insurance claim by the owner.

[1Referee]

These machines will either be moved out of the country (if the thieves are interested in quick and easy money only), or used in a very efficient manner that will not catch the attention of authorities and the power supplier. The latter option is what I consider the most likely scenario. Easy way to do so is to fire up the miners on plenty of different locations, and then pool the total hash power of all the machines together, and there you have basically a great deal of income. It's just a matter of logical thinking, really. One would be utterly stupid to fire up all the machine at once from just one location. Criminals are always a step ahead of the authorities - say bye bye to the $2 million worth of hardware. Or, in the very lowest possibility of the scenario, it's insurance fraud.

[theCoinMaestro]

Hmm... the thieves are probably planning to start their own mining operation with 600 computers at their disposal. Or they already have a running operation and the stolen computers were just incorporated into the existing system. I'm wondering if the stolen units can still be tracked once it goes online.

[Lancusters]

Why do the police think thieves will mine the currency using these computers. They can be exported to any neighboring country and sold. Now there is a great demand for mining equipment. These computers will be sold very quickly. I'm sorry, but there's no way to get them back.

[richardsNY]

Why do the police think thieves will mine the currency using these computers. They can be exported to any neighboring country and sold. Now there is a great demand for mining equipment. These computers will be sold very quickly. I'm sorry, but there's no way to get them back.

The miners come with unique product numbers, where any legit buyer from this point, especially within Iceland, will be looking suspiciously at any miner that is being offered for sale. Sure, there may be potential buyers out there who don't care about buying stolen miners, but it's in my opinion much more rewarding, especially long term speaking, to let these miners do their work. If the thieves are done mining, they can always choose to still sell them later on. In other words, it's a long term form of passive income, plus a resale bonus at the end of the ride. It will also allow time to pass, which will slowly but surely make the theft of these miners less relevant, unless the same criminals keep stealing miners, lol.

[SKRAAA]

Why do the police think thieves will mine the currency using these computers. They can be exported to any neighboring country and sold. Now there is a great demand for mining equipment. These computers will be sold very quickly. I'm sorry, but there's no way to get them back.

It's not easy to export that many computers/mining rigs/ASIC miners from Iceland because it is an island.

[orions.belt19]

Those thieves were really good to be able to pull off four rounds of theft. To be able to pull off just one round would already be is already a great feat. They were also able to acquire numerous units which is amazing, yet horrifying. I have heard that Iceland has been using a tremendous amount of electricity for mining, even much larger consumption than what their household uses up so there's no surprise that they have that much mining computers within their country. I hope that something may be done in order to recover them, otherwise it would be a great injustice.

[eckmar]

I would say that they are basically out of the country by now. It would be easy to transport them by ship and also not all miners were stolen at once, so they could be transported in multiple batchs. They probably know that two so they are not even bothering by now...