There are
actual cases wherein a teenager is really involved in such a scheme, and it's great that VICE reiterates the possibilities of such an attack for people to know that this is where technology headed to. For the teens, most of them are egoistic lads boosted by testosterone and are careless enough to get caught. Most of them aren't really going to serve the full term of their sentence for 'good conduct' and might even see themselves landing up a decent job after their incarceration.
Doing 10 years for $2 000 000 might sound good to the average person, but what about inflation and also a possible collapse of the Bitcoin price. A lot can happen in 10 years.... heck we have seen a 80% drop in the price of Bitcoin in a matter of a few weeks.
I don't think they'd even be able to keep those money when they are caught. Maybe some of the stash if they are clever enough to split it but certainly not all. Also, you are underestimating the power of bitcoin's hype. We may have experienced steep declines from time to time but overall for the last decade we're still on the upsides.
Yes, these guys go out on Social media and they flaunt their new found wealth with videos of them drinking the most expensive Champaign and wearing the most expensive clothing and watches and other people see this and they report them, because they know these people and they also know they do not have high paying jobs or inheritance. (jealousy also come into play)
In my country you do almost 50% of the original sentence on good behavior, so these guys will be out in 5 years. Seeing that this is not a violent crime, some businesses might employ them.. but they will not work in any position where finances are handled.
The law enforcement agencies can only confiscate whatever they seize, so if these guys have bitcoins stored somewhere away from their residence, then those bitcoins will not be confiscated. (These guys use mixer services and they store it on online sites and also paper wallets)