My Bitcoin Nightmare.

[wasamata]

Obviously Im in a bit of a bad mood right now so bare with me.
Trying to sell my car I get an email reply telling me to email his brother as his interested and has the cash to buy it.
I did so, then almost instantly he replies with carhistory.com.au.something something / report stating the vehicle has defects,
The thing is, I believe the link he sent me is a keylogger, as when you right click on it the url adress starts with an IP address.
The program had a ICQ icon (quickly deleted that).
I then started having issues with google chrome so I removed chrome, did a scan with avast (which didnt find anything)
So I assumed it's all clear.

After that all I wanted to do, was simply sell my freeking bitcoin (as Im wanted to buy a rig).
Right, so Mt Gox has the best exchange rate (being an aussie),  and I have sent my documents there.
Yet I have to wait atleast another 20 days.
I mean gtfo ! 20 DAYS ARE YOU KIDDING ME? (after already waiting more than 10 days)
Alright, other options are local bitcoin, but not one local and they want to buy it for discounted prices.
BTC-e exchange rate is crud too.
So, what did I do? I put them on ebay in small lots of 0.05. They sold out quickly (minutes).
Strangely though, most of the buyers had low feedback (arround 2).
Suspcious, I did a search and then saw the warnings about selling on ebay
I also noted some of there paypal home address differed to their ebay home addresses.

So here I am, with all this money in my paypal, from what i suspect are scammers.
I never sent any btc to them..Then the paypal reversals started to come in..I expected that.
So by the end of the night, I hadn't got far at all and it was time for bed.

I then woke up in the middle of the night, only to see a transaction had been processed in my qt btc wallet.
All of it sent to an unknown btc address (arround 1 bitcoin).
Im like what? trying to figure out if I sent it to Cryptsy or cex or Virwox before I went to bed.
But no..
Going back to that link I was sent with a potential keylogger.
I did a whois of the IP and it is from some registrant called Dmitry Skotnikov out of Belize but probably Russian.
I assume it was the cause but I havent found it on my PC yet.
Not looking good for me now pretty sure btc is gone now.
Now I hope people give it to this thief as it's scumbags like these.
That will be the downfall of cryptocurrency for everybody else.
Lesson learnt: probably best to stick with FIAT MONEY now.
Hate to say it, but its the truth and alot safer in MANY ways.

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[HairyMaclairy]

 Sorry you have had such a rough time.

You can sign up for Coinjar (Australian company) and sell to them. Money in your account the next day.

It may take a few days to be verified the first time around.

I also suggest you have a computer dedicated to holding your bitcoins that runs your wallet software and nothing else. You can pick up a used computer from ex govt wholesalers for under $100.  Well worth the investment.

But yes, bitcoin is not ready for the mainstream quite yet. Security options are not good enough. Paper wallets lack functionality and hot wallets lack security.  Let's see if the hardware wallets coming out fix it.

Also consider reformatting your computer and starting from scratch because you clearly have a keylogger.

PS you dodged a bullet with Gox.  You will never see your money if you sell to them.  Use Bitstamp if you don't want to use Coinjar.

[Meuh6879]

Well ... when you exchange bitcoin (no chargeback) for paypal (with chargeback) ...
Welcome in real world, neo.

[Cryptopher]

I then woke up in the middle of the night, only to see a transaction had been processed in my qt btc wallet.
All of it sent to an unknown btc address (arround 1 bitcoin).
Im like what? trying to figure out if I sent it to Cryptsy or cex or Virwox before I went to bed.
But no..
Going back to that link I was sent with a potential keylogger.
I did a whois of the IP and it is from some registrant called Dmitry Skotnikov out of Belize but probably Russian.
I assume it was the cause but I havent found it on my PC yet.
Not looking good for me now pretty sure btc is gone now.
Now I hope people give it to this thief as it's scumbags like these.
That will be the downfall of cryptocurrency for everybody else.
Lesson learnt: probably best to stick with FIAT MONEY now.
Hate to say it, but its the truth and alot safer in MANY ways.

That really sucks, but crypto is still very young and security is an issue that affects most/all forms of payment in some capacity.

I guess it comes to the old adage, don't open anything from anybody you don't know/trust - least not until you've done some research. Also you are always asking for trouble if you do day-to-day activities on the machine you use to hold your wallet and transact.

I'm not saying that you deserve it, hell no, what happened sucks, but you can do more to protect yourself in future.

[BTCisthefuture]

Sorry to hear about that.  It's true that for many people there will need to be improvements on ease of use and security , it's certainly not realistic to expect the average everyday person to fully understand how to take the best possible steps to protect their bitcoin. Services offering improved security should/are coming, weither that be places that offer insurance on your btc or hardware wallets like someone else suggested.

I'm sure a lot of people have simliary stories of losing their bitcoins when they first got involved with bitcoin and never took the proper security measures.

Hopefully this doesn't turn you away from bitcoin forever and you can use it as a learning experience and grow from it. Like someone else suggested, a computer dedicated only to holding bitcoins is a great option and a cheap investment.

As upset as you are right now (rightfully so) it's good that you can share your story so others can learn from it.

[mayne]

selling your btc's on ebay is asking for trouble

[bitpop]

You can blame Bitcoin but they probably also have your PayPal password.

Never click a link, even to your bank. Always type it in yourself.

[jdbtracker]

We have the technology but do not understand it yet, our reach exceeds or grasp. Using the scrypt system inside Bitcoin is the only way to safely do this, if necessary a contract could be setup to mitigate the risk by creating a chargeback address back to you.

[inspiredinvestor]

as a fellow aussie, i find localbitcoins.com good too. you can find someone with same bank and often swap same day. various prices. as far as wallets bitcoin armory offline is great. there was a good talk given by Adam of bitpos at the sydney talk and trade on how to manage it.

sorry to hear of your trouble.

[wasamata]

I guess I overrated crypt as a currency and underrated security needs.
Thanks for all your feedback..I am still interested in scrypt, but not in buying it.
My security concerns have just gone through the roof now

I had been an ebay powerseller for years and saw others selling coins on there,
Paypal is just a minor issue (that's not to say they are still stealing off people every minute),
I didn't lose anything through ebay/paypal as I did not send the bitcoins as I cottoned on in time.
The issue is the sophistication of the keylogger who replied to my ad through gumtree.

http://178.63.152.121/

That is the IP portion of his keylogger exe file.

I should of just accepted BTC-e prices instead of thinking mt gox was the standard...
Feeling like a total idiot now 

[jdbtracker]

Hey there is e-mail money transfer too if you have an online account. I'm sure they have that in Australia, if someone messes around you atleast know their within law enforcements reach.

[bitpeedoff]

Check btcmarkets.net for an aussie exchange. So far I have been very happy with their service- only wish I'd found them before I used Weexchange.

[EvilPanda]

You could've just come here for advice. Sadly, people usually do before thinking. And as for BTC security it isn't bad, you just have to keep your wallet on a separate machine that you don't use daily just turn on to make a payment.

[davida]

I'm using this anti key logging software. It maybe could have saved you.  Apparently a lot of key loggers are overlooked by virus scans.

http://www.qfxsoftware.com/

I've been using the free version so it only encrypts text in web browser (also works in multibit wallet which is good). I think the paid version encrypts all your key presses in any window.

Although, how effective it is I don't know...

(Recommended by bbc - http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01fmkz8 )

[wasamata]

This is the transaction 9a7c7fa39fbfc7c186f6b401777d6032f25fe8008972c8c569a70aa0b4408d90
My wallet is 1KMNqDKVTfgRiar2X6cLSdt4NmBdu5xrjM
I don't really understand why part of it was transferred from 167Ak3Y98CTJv7Zbspghj7fSPsPg4rnN7E
And his wallet address 1JQ6Yheb1cZm62E8EqaccvqNEsNpYd1aTg
I now got bitdefender total as well as malwarebites and superantispyware.
Also trialling spyware shelter firewall..
Also trialling blockchain.info wallet with sms 2 factor auth.
Hopefully that keeps the rabbits out 

[wasamata]

I'm using this anti key logging software. It maybe could have saved you.  Apparently a lot of key loggers are overlooked by virus scans.

http://www.qfxsoftware.com/

I've been using the free version so it only encrypts text in web browser (also works in multibit wallet which is good). I think the paid version encrypts all your key presses in any window.

Although, how effective it is I don't know...

(Recommended by bbc - http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01fmkz8 )

Yes it would of stopped him definitely. All I had was avast free.

[circusmidget11]

It baffles me how anyone can do financial transactions on a system with free programs like Avast.  Pay a few bucks and get something that would give you way better security versus losing everything.  Lesson learned.

[descarte]

Fiat can be scammed as well. people need to learn morale values since young.

[FalconFly]

Also note that just about all AntiVirus programs give you (at best) something like a 96% coverage (which is an excellent result), many however don't even scan for certain malware types which better require dedicated scanners.
If your program doesn't check for heuristics and has some form of behavioural analysis of very good quality - you're usually screwed.

Many Trojans and Drive-By Downloads currently are initially detected only by like 3-4 out of 40 AV Software suites (and only after the Zero-Day timeframe is over) and it can take many days for updated signatures to propagate, make it into new definitions and get distributed as updates.

In Short :
Having one or two installed Software scanners detect nothing means.... absolutely nothing. Even if they're usually considered good quality products.
Plus, the bad guys know this as well and get pretty smart nowadays. They don't use "old stuff" they know scanners would immediately detect.

The OS and Browser needs to be up-to-date, especially all its plugins (Adobe Reader and Adobe Flash comes to mind, those suck at security) - and as a last resort, a 3rd party Firewall with strict rules concerning unknown applications (including System or Pseudo-System rights .dll's etc.) needs to be installed, so you at least get a last chance (flycatcher/quarterback) warning.

Still, if it's run on a MicroSoft Windows machine, odds are generally against you - big time. Its security is nothing short of a swiss cheese.... LOTS of holes in it and that never changes (and that's not even including the systemic backdoors). MS Windows is okay for gaming and security-irrelevant tasks, anything that needs serious security or serious privacy is better left to Linux/Unix/BSD/Solaris etc. A 2nd Partition that upon keypress boots a secure OS is usually a good idea (btw. that's how many large companies do it with their Laptops, although that usually includes a hardware dongle).

I do wonder if there's a trusted Linux Live CD/DVD focussing on Bitcoin (i.e. having all BitCoin software installed and prepared to store all permanent data on a Flash Drive); that would be neat, just boot off a clean optical media and do your Bitcoin business, when finished restart into the known Operating System off HD. Pretty secure compared to an ageing Windows and generally a hassle-free solution.

PS.
The best protection is not available for purchase and needs to be custom compiled by each user using a classic neuro-chemistry process :
Common Sense V1.0 - the best firewall and protection around.

[bitpop]

Hitmanpro is good