Bitcoin ATM stolen in a liquior store

[cryptomaniac_xxx]

https://twitter.com/scottbudman/status/1446540818316070917

This is the surveillance video of the liquor store itself, showing how they stole it.

Maybe this will be the new trend for criminals, breaking and stealing Bitcoin ATM across US.

Hopefully the public can help identify this crooks.

[Jating]

It was a daring move by those thieves, wonder though how much they got with cash.

Maybe Bitcoin ATM should make their machine more secure so that it won't easily be taken like that. Similar to how secure fiat ATM is.

So it's time for the manufacturer to adjust their design as they will be the target of random attacks in the coming months.

[Kanjeung]

it didn't really occur to me, they were desperate to steal in that way, the car pulled the contents of the bitcoin atm. I agree with you, criminals like this should be exterminated so that there is no bad news about bitcoin. The US should tighten security and stamp out this kind of theft. I saw the video, it's like stealing money in the fast of furious movie 

[mk4]

Plot twist: the thieves stole the ATM with the intention of stealing the bitcoin rather than stealing the cash.

Jokes aside, if they actually chose the Bitcoin ATM, they must know that the Bitcoin ATM was totally in demand (hence there's likely to be a lot of cash).

[Kakmakr]

I am curious to know what the motive was...

1. Did they do this to acquire a Bitcoin ATM to take it apart to see how it issues bitcoins...and how it works?
2. Were they just after the cash inside the ATM? (What model was this... some Bitcoin ATM's does not convert fiat currencies to Bitcoin)
3. Could they possibly not have known the difference between a Cash ATM and a Bitcoin ATM?

In any way... they are after "money" and any ATM have some kind of money... (Bitcoin is also money)  

[Charles-Tim]

Nobody can know what the theives are after, but I believe it can be as a result of the theives thinking they can be able to access bitcoin through the ATM and also fiat while stealing only Bank ATM will make them able to only steal cash. They can even think to the extent that they can use the ATM to steal much more bitcoin as it is digital rather than fiat. But to steal bitcoin, that will be very impossible.

[shield132]

https://twitter.com/scottbudman/status/1446540818316070917

This is the surveillance video of the liquor store itself, showing how they stole it.

Maybe this will be the new trend for criminals, breaking and stealing Bitcoin ATM across US.

Hopefully the public can help identify this crooks.

Why will it be a new trend? ATM is ATM, doesn't matter whether it's bitcoin ATM or Bank's ATM, there is money/cash in both of them. The person who made that tweet is just very shady by giving this fact such a name: Man choose Bitcoin's ATM over Cash ATM, that's just provocation and nothing more. Some people will come and say: Hey, you see, bitcoin is made for money laundering, just see people prefer to steal money from it over banks atm because bitcoin is made for money laundering, etc. Hope, this won't happen

The reality is: Thief just preferred to steal ATM where the most money was at the time of robbing

[worle1bm]

I am curious to know what the motive was...

1. Did they do this to acquire a Bitcoin ATM to take it apart to see how it issues bitcoins...and how it works?
2. Were they just after the cash inside the ATM? (What model was this... some Bitcoin ATM's does not convert fiat currencies to Bitcoin)
3. Could they possibly not have known the difference between a Cash ATM and a Bitcoin ATM?

In any way... they are after "money" and any ATM have some kind of money... (Bitcoin is also money)  

This is also my curiosity that they might have mistook it to simple cash ATM or they intentionally choose the bitcoin ATM ? It could be anything or say the real reason behind this theft as @Charles Time pointing out that all they want is money in any form possible.But what i am interested in is if somehow anyone could manage to have video of after they try to open the machine and what they feel at that time.

[dothebeats]

Bitcoin ATMs are getting increasingly vulnerable to such thefts day by day. It's also intriguing to know why they are opting to get bitcoin ATMs rather than traditional ATMs, since the former doesn't really contain that much money at all given the low volume these ATMs are generating cash-wise. What are they gaining from stealing bitcoin ATMs? There are no private keys in there, only some cash and the normal ATM equipment. The risks are greater than the rewards in stealing a bitcoin ATM IMO.

[Ararbermas]

"Not the cash but the bitcoin ATM". probably those thieves knows how much they can get from the machine compared to the cash within.. but still a big mistake because for sure that ATM is secured and only people who have the  confirmation codes can get money from it since it was digitally, so a wrong move! .. Lol indeed they will be punish because of what they did so why not take all especially the cash.? . Very funny theives..

[cryptopence]

The next level of crime will be the robbery of banks and vaults, during which robbers will not take cash and jewellery, but hardware and paper bitcoin wallets that are stored in safety deposit boxes.

[adzino]

I am curious to know what the motive was...

1. Did they do this to acquire a Bitcoin ATM to take it apart to see how it issues bitcoins...and how it works?
2. Were they just after the cash inside the ATM? (What model was this... some Bitcoin ATM's does not convert fiat currencies to Bitcoin)
3. Could they possibly not have known the difference between a Cash ATM and a Bitcoin ATM?

In any way... they are after "money" and any ATM have some kind of money... (Bitcoin is also money)  

1. They could have just googled and not take such a huge risk. Or maybe they are stupid. Was expecting some physical bitcoins inside the ATM,

2. Of course they were after the cash inside. But they do Bitcoin to fiat. So the ATM still has cash.

3. They knew. They probably expected bitcoin ATMs to be less secure than other ATMs. Hence they took their chances assuming it was less risky.

[mk4]

The next level of crime will be the robbery of banks and vaults, during which robbers will not take cash and jewellery, but hardware and paper bitcoin wallets that are stored in safety deposit boxes.

I've always thought the frequent recommendation of storing wallet backups on bank safety deposit boxes was dangerous as heck. Just the thought of entrusting something so sensitive to a bank is enough to make me uneasy, even with a passphrase.

[ene1980]

~
This is the surveillance video of the liquor store itself, showing how they stole it.

Maybe this will be the new trend for criminals, breaking and stealing Bitcoin ATM across US.

Hopefully the public can help identify this crooks.

What are they going to do with the ATM, if they break into the ATM they will some fiat currency other than that they are not going to get any Bitcoin. This is a usual crime in the US as we hear about criminals trying to steal ATM and i am sure they will be caught eventually but the audacity to steal ATM makes me laugh, how dumb these criminals are  If they are caught they will be spending a long time behind bars.

[Macadonian]

It was a daring move by those thieves, wonder though how much they got with cash.

Maybe Bitcoin ATM should make their machine more secure so that it won't easily be taken like that. Similar to how secure fiat ATM is.

So it's time for the manufacturer to adjust their design as they will be the target of random attacks in the coming months.

Easy they can make it more secure by not allowing cash deposits and instead only allowing card payments. Then if the ATM was stolen the thieves would not get any money because the Bitcoin would be secured by the private key which would not be on the machine but on the server it connects to and there be no storing of the credit cards on the machine. It is a bad idea to include cash payments because of this reason. If they want to accept cash the ATM should be placed inside a store instead of outside on the forecourt.

I've always thought the frequent recommendation of storing wallet backups on bank safety deposit boxes was dangerous as heck. Just the thought of entrusting something so sensitive to a bank is enough to make me uneasy, even with a passphrase.

I agree you can store your backups securely enough without using a bank or any other third party. Unless you tell someone where you store it no one would find out unless it was through luck but the chances of that happening are very low.

[hatshepsut93]

The next level of crime will be the robbery of banks and vaults, during which robbers will not take cash and jewellery, but hardware and paper bitcoin wallets that are stored in safety deposit boxes.

People could be storing their seeds or hardware wallets with encryption, or storing something like only shards of a key split with Shamir's secret sharing. And robbing deposit boxes must be insanely hard, so considering the unreliable payout, no one will be doing them.

What will actually happen in the future is that criminals will be kidnapping relatives of people with large crypto holdings and demanding ransom. Crypto is very favorable for kidnappers in this situation, because bank transfers can be traced and frozen, cash transfers require physical presence, but crypto can't be charged back and can be mixed. Crypto is already the most popular method for ransomware, it's only logical it will be used for kidnapping too.

[SFR10]

Maybe this will be the new trend for criminals, breaking and stealing Bitcoin ATM across US.

Maybe, but judging by the amount of BTMs in the US, I wouldn't be surprised if most of the "one-way BTMs" have little to no cash in them!

The next level of crime will be the robbery of banks and vaults, during which robbers will not take cash and jewellery, but hardware and paper bitcoin wallets that are stored in safety deposit boxes.

Good luck in finding the seed phrases ^[HW] and their exact orders

What are they going to do with the ATM, if they break into the ATM they will some fiat currency other than that they are not going to get any Bitcoin.

You have a point but if they're skilled enough, they could also disassemble it and try to sell most of the parts separately ^{[if they're still functioning well]}.

[DaveF]

I am going to go with
1) They saw ATM and went for it, not knowing it was a BTC ATM.
OR
2) They knew that there were a lot of people using it to go fiat ->BTC and knew that there would be a lot of cash in it.
OR
3) They were going to take more stuff but they heard sirens coming and left more quickly then they originally planned.

-Dave

[tulusikhlas]

What can thieves take from a bitcoin ATM? does it contain fiat money like ATM in general? I don't know what the motive behind this theft is, because in the country where we live there are only banknote ATMs available. If bitcoin ATMs are vulnerable to being stolen, why doesn't the government place them in a place where guards watch out.

[Baofeng]

Or maybe the thieves wasn't aware that it was a bitcoin atm and thought it was just a regular atm full of cash?

Or maybe they initially plan to hack, but abandon the idea because they are not that technical in the first place and just decided to rob the nearest bitcoin atm? Lol.

They are lucky if there are some cash on it, hopefully we will hear a follow news about this.

[uneng]

Probably the thieves thought there were bitcoins stored inside the ATM.

This kind of thief isn't the smartest one and by judging how greedy and misinformed they are added to the frequent news regard bitcoin mainstream media is spreading right now, it's really possible they imagined those ATMs held some btcs. And even though they are going to get none, I'm sure they will find a way or another to make some profit from this "hit and run operation". Selling the machine to someone else is an option.

[dimonstration]

"Not the cash but the bitcoin ATM". probably those thieves knows how much they can get from the machine compared to the cash within.. but still a big mistake because for sure that ATM is secured and only people who have the  confirmation codes can get money from it since it was digitally, so a wrong move! .. Lol indeed they will be punish because of what they did so why not take all especially the cash.? . Very funny theives..

They might still not know that BTC is a digital money, mostly those thieves due to lack of knowledge they only resort their living to do bad activity as they were not given opportunity to have their own job or worst too lazy to find their own job for living. In my country for sure they will not mind if its a bitcoin or cash as long as it looks like a ATM machine thieves will attack it or even if it is jus any vending machines.

[Coyster]

The government are very much renowned for directing accusatory statements at Bitcoin, thus I'd not be surprised if they jump on this one, they could go about dissuading people about Bitcoin as a result of this, but it's no news that Fiat ATM's can and have been stolen in the past, so they are all the same thing and type of theft. But notwithstanding, for people who dislike Bitcoin like the government, the headline on the news: "Bitcoin ATM stolen", is enough delight for them and they could use it to start another propaganda against the coin and why people should not use it.

[Ultegra134]

Plot twist: the thieves stole the ATM with the intention of stealing the bitcoin rather than stealing the cash.

Jokes aside, if they actually chose the Bitcoin ATM, they must know that the Bitcoin ATM was totally in demand (hence there's likely to be a lot of cash).

I wouldn't be surprised if they actually believed the first one. However, I'm not exactly sure if the robbery of the ATM being a Bitcoin type one was intended, or just grabbed the opportunity to steal any random ATM. Clueless on how popular they are elsewhere, but they are a pretty rare sighting where I live.

[Rengga Jati]

Even it is Bitcoin ATM or other ATMs, the thing that they can steal from that ATM is the cash itself, isn't it?
Isn't this the same thing as theft of money at another ATM? Do they still get cash from the ATM? Not the Bitcoin they get, right?

"Honestly, if I was going after Bitcoin and trying to steal it, I would hack instead," said Caroline Chen, a business professor at San Jose State University. "Because then I know I can steal millions of dollars of Bitcoin in one fell swoop, instead of the ATM at the local convenience store that has $200 of actual cash in it."

Source
This is funny, and I think it is true enough  

[vapourminer]

The next level of crime will be the robbery of banks and vaults, during which robbers will not take cash and jewellery, but hardware and paper bitcoin wallets that are stored in safety deposit boxes.

I've always thought the frequent recommendation of storing wallet backups on bank safety deposit boxes was dangerous as heck. Just the thought of entrusting something so sensitive to a bank is enough to make me uneasy, even with a passphrase.

could try 2 of 3 multisig plus passphrase in a couple different bank deposit boxes (in different towns/states) plus one hidden at home maybe. or variants of this. while a government or TLA etc could confiscate all of the deposit boxes the odds of a straight criminal robbery getting 2 of the 3 before you can xfer the coins to elsewhere is pretty low.

[GubiMixa1292]

I'm curious because bitcoin ATMs seem so easy to steal but why don't they choose fiat ATMs that are easier to get money from than bitcoin ATMs? . because if you choose a bitcoin ATM, there will be a lot of problems such as processing errors or QR codes about passwords, key wallets are difficult to decipher. It seems that this is a rather reckless and daring idea... .

[Ryker1]

Well perhaps there is a big amount of cash who was bought bitcoin at that time and the thieves know this because if the thieves stole bitcoin ATM for the bitcoin itself, I don't know how they will get the bitcoin since it is protected by the private key and seed phrase on the machine not unless if there is a key inside the machine which is we never know how was that will going on. So believe there is big cash there that make the thieves attack and stole the bitcoin ATM. Possibly it will happen again in the future, store bitcoin machine owner should secure their ATM machines inside the store and not on the outside and it should have a security guard.

[Slow death]

frankly this is extreme, i thought that ATM robberies were a thing of the past and thieves were busy robbing banks or large companies, but from what i see there are still thieves who are concerned about robbing ATMs which in most cases are ATM which are located where there are cameras, how the hell did these thieves not see that most ATMs are installed near cameras, I don't know if that only counts in my country, but from what I've seen in the movies hardly an ATM is in a place where there isn't cameras nearby, even if it's ATM bitcoin I doubt that bitcoin ATM owners don't put ATM bitcoin in places where they have cameras

[Maslate]

I'm curious because bitcoin ATMs seem so easy to steal but why don't they choose fiat ATMs that are easier to get money from than bitcoin ATMs? . because if you choose a bitcoin ATM, there will be a lot of problems such as processing errors or QR codes about passwords, key wallets are difficult to decipher. It seems that this is a rather reckless and daring idea... .

They don't know it and might these thieves think there is money inside. Once they arrive at their meeting place, there to find how stupid they are and being ignorant to Bitcoin ATM. Maybe they got lucky if someone put their private keys...lol
I think all the stores must have to secure their ATMs in order to avoid them from happening again. In this pandemic situation, a lot of people are getting obsessed to get money and we have to anticipate this thing before it happens.

[TinaK]

I'm curious because bitcoin ATMs seem so easy to steal but why don't they choose fiat ATMs that are easier to get money from than bitcoin ATMs? . because if you choose a bitcoin ATM, there will be a lot of problems such as processing errors or QR codes about passwords, key wallets are difficult to decipher. It seems that this is a rather reckless and daring idea... .

They don't know it and might these thieves think there is money inside. Once they arrive at their meeting place, there to find how stupid they are and being ignorant to Bitcoin ATM. Maybe they got lucky if someone put their private keys...lol
I think all the stores must have to secure their ATMs in order to avoid them from happening again. In this pandemic situation, a lot of people are getting obsessed to get money and we have to anticipate this thing before it happens.

I think they had other motives aside from stealing bitcoin, for sure before they did this they have planned this very well. Because no one will risk their lives because of getting nothing so I think there is someone who knows the private key or we will never know one of the thieves are relatives of the bitcoin owner. There is a possibility this stealing bitcoin machine was an inside job or possible they had detected that there is someone who bought a huge amount on that machine. Bitcoin ATM machine owners will always be careful.

[tippytoes]

I'm curious because bitcoin ATMs seem so easy to steal but why don't they choose fiat ATMs that are easier to get money from than bitcoin ATMs? . because if you choose a bitcoin ATM, there will be a lot of problems such as processing errors or QR codes about passwords, key wallets are difficult to decipher. It seems that this is a rather reckless and daring idea... .

They don't know it and might these thieves think there is money inside. Once they arrive at their meeting place, there to find how stupid they are and being ignorant to Bitcoin ATM. Maybe they got lucky if someone put their private keys...lol
I think all the stores must have to secure their ATMs in order to avoid them from happening again. In this pandemic situation, a lot of people are getting obsessed to get money and we have to anticipate this thing before it happens.

I think they had other motives aside from stealing bitcoin, for sure before they did this they have planned this very well. Because no one will risk their lives because of getting nothing so I think there is someone who knows the private key or we will never know one of the thieves are relatives of the bitcoin owner. There is a possibility this stealing bitcoin machine was an inside job or possible they had detected that there is someone who bought a huge amount on that machine. Bitcoin ATM machine owners will always be careful.

Definitely, they are not dumb to do this crime without planning and thinking of what was at stake. We won't know their ulterior motives, unless, they will disclose it to the public or the police will catch them. I haven't used a bitcoin ATM yet, so I don't know what kind of vulnerability that a user will encounter in case the ATM he used is compromised. But more than likely these thieves already did their homework before pulling this act.

[bhadz]

I'm thinking if they're aiming to steal the bitcoins "inside" the ATM or they really know what they've done. But this act should be stop, someone who owns a Bitcoin ATM is already helping to spread the word about bitcoin and at the same time, he's just a typical businessman.
This sucks when some thieves get to aim your business. I hope that they'll be caught as soon as possible.

[verita1]

I am sure that the offender will be arrested. There are security cameras that will help solve the case. From what I can observe is that the criminal preferred the bitcoin ATM under the assumption that there would be a lot of cash. I do not see it as a propaganda against bitcoin hopefully I am not wrong. The criminal act may have been repeated on other occasions in any part of the world but this time it was made public.

[freedomgo]

I am sure that the offender will be arrested. There are security cameras that will help solve the case. From what I can observe is that the criminal preferred the bitcoin ATM under the assumption that there would be a lot of cash. I do not see it as a propaganda against bitcoin hopefully I am not wrong. The criminal act may have been repeated on other occasions in any part of the world but this time it was made public.

The thieves might actually be aware that bitcoin  has a higher value than fiat so they chose bitcoin atm machine rather than the cash atm machine. Without knowing, they can never steal bitcoin as simply as that. There is a high security on bitcoin that whoever attempts to robbed it will never be come out successful. Hopefully, store owners should be more cautious and careful next time because this case will definitely be repeated in an unexpected time.

[oktana]

Looking at the way Scott emphasized on the Bitcoin ATM, I think what he wanted for us to understand is that the thieves were selective for some reason; they saw the Bitcoin ATM of greater importance than the cash ATM. People steal valuable things right? and cash ATM being left behind shows it's losing its value.

[Hippocrypto]

These criminals are expert on that field of crime, but they're just stealing out the machine itself without any physical value of money. However, they're fooling on their minds upon grabbing bitcoin atm but in reality they can't find money out of that machine due to protected funds within that device.
They'll need to crack down the security of this crypto atm, before they'll able to take everything out of it.
Hopefully, this incident would provide them lessons to improve atm machines security for another possible attacks.

[Dave1]

frankly this is extreme, i thought that ATM robberies were a thing of the past and thieves were busy robbing banks or large companies, but from what i see there are still thieves who are concerned about robbing ATMs which in most cases are ATM which are located where there are cameras, how the hell did these thieves not see that most ATMs are installed near cameras, I don't know if that only counts in my country, but from what I've seen in the movies hardly an ATM is in a place where there isn't cameras nearby, even if it's ATM bitcoin I doubt that bitcoin ATM owners don't put ATM bitcoin in places where they have cameras

Perhaps they know that there are camera's that's why the try to hide their faces, and the plate number is somewhat blurred but we can see the first 3 letters. It's because the Fiat ATM manufacture has made a lot of improvement throughout the years that robbers are not targeting them anymore. But then again, this are criminals, maybe they think that they can find BTC inside, sweep the private key, but they are totally wrong.

[Cling18]

This is devastating news but I'm too curious about their real motive. Those thieves may be against Bitcoin or they possibly did it by choice. I hope that authorities would keep ATMs in a more secure location. Bitcoin ATM is too beneficial for users so losing one would affect lots of users.

[michellee]

I can not imagine their impression after they are in the safe house and trying to search for the money

But they do not think much about the ATM itself and maybe they see much news about bitcoin and think that bitcoin is like cash which has a psychical form. Hopefully, it will not happen in the future and in other places.

But it is a crime that needs police to investigate who was behind that robbery.

[GeorgeJohn]

But while is that fiat ATM machine is very difficult before criminals penetrate into, i think bitcoin ATM machine have a higher security level more than fiat machine but fiat is not easily to penetrate in order to steal what is inside the machine, i believe those people that might done that don't have already existing pre knowledge to decode the machine.. but i think they those people is deformed or not informed that the machine is for bitcoin, because is very very rigid to succeed via bitcoin machine stealing.

[Vatimins]

     Man, I don't even know how to react to this kind of news. I am shocked, amazed, about to laugh and a bit bothered. Just thinking about it, such actions can only mean that they do not know that there are actually no bitcoins in that atm or they are only after the cash, or lastly they have bigger plans and understanding how a bitcoin atm works plays a vital role in that bigger plan.

[DdmrDdmr]

The footage on this following link provides a better view on how the thieves perpetrated the robbery, showing some images from inside the store:

https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/thieves-break-into-silicon-valley-liquor-store-to-steal-bitcoin-atm/2677506/

It looks like a "simple enough" machine to steal, not being too large, so likely a relatively easy target. They likely knew full well that it had USD inside, and that is what they were after.

Some BTC ATMs allow you to actually see how much cash is available at a given Bitcoin ATM (others had to turn it off due to burglaries), which gives thieves a clue as to when and where the hit may be worth their while. I don’t know if this specific brand/franchise makes the amount readily visible.

[pinggoki]

I'm not so sure if these thieves could be considered smart of the biggest dumbasses of the century. Knowing what type of bitcoin ATM this machine is will help determine which is which. If these machines are the ones that do not issue fiat and do not convert bitcoin to fiat then they just wasted their time setting up a scheme for naught. If it's the one that dispenses money then they still could have the opportunity. Still, I think they have some ulterior motives besides cash in stealing this machine. Perhaps they are trynna hack into the system with the ATM as their payload?

The footage on this following link provides a better view on how the thieves perpetrated the robbery, showing some images from inside the store:

https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/thieves-break-into-silicon-valley-liquor-store-to-steal-bitcoin-atm/2677506/

It looks like a "simple enough" machine to steal, not being too large, so likely a relatively easy target. They likely knew full well that it had USD inside, and that is what they were after.

Some BTC ATMs allow you to actually see how much cash is available at a given Bitcoin ATM (others had to turn it off due to burglaries), which gives thieves a clue as to when and where the hit may be worth their while. I don’t know if this specific brand/franchise makes the amount readily visible.

That settles it I guess. See, these thieves wouldn't dare touch the machine if this ATM only dispenses bitcoin, unless they are trying to learn the machinations behind this technology, I doubt they'd attempt to steal this. But since it dispenses cash, the thieves are after the fiat that is inside and so the trouble began. Hopefully they are caught and the money be put back into circulation or at least recycled so nothing is virtually wasted.

[DarkDays]

It was a daring move by those thieves, wonder though how much they got with cash.

Yes, I daring move indeed with a number plated van and everything 

BTC ATM now being a target is no surprise with the more and more media headlines about crypto and BTC. Whether this is a new way of illegality is hard to say but my guess is that not may people would take this risk when BTC is anonymous...

To me the important thing from this is that BTC is growing in popularity and that ATM owners are getting those early waking calls, but they can easily  have GPS tracking on those to detract from similar future events.

[dupee419]

The footage on this following link provides a better view on how the thieves perpetrated the robbery, showing some images from inside the store:

https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/thieves-break-into-silicon-valley-liquor-store-to-steal-bitcoin-atm/2677506/

It looks like a "simple enough" machine to steal, not being too large, so likely a relatively easy target. They likely knew full well that it had USD inside, and that is what they were after.

Some BTC ATMs allow you to actually see how much cash is available at a given Bitcoin ATM (others had to turn it off due to burglaries), which gives thieves a clue as to when and where the hit may be worth their while. I don’t know if this specific brand/franchise makes the amount readily visible.

The thieves definitely did some background research on the BTC ATM, no thief would just run onto it and try to bring the whole thing, I guess the vulnerability of Bitcoin ATMs is that some of it actually is easy to steal and pretty lightweight, the fact that it only took a medium-sized van to take the whole thing together, and ATMs like this doesn't have that much security, I guess there's room for improvement on machines like this security-wise, although I do feel like the amount of that ATM won't be that much compared to hackers actually being able to breach through wallets online, but still, definitely ton of money inside that machine, also, it destroyed the whole entrance of that liquor store, so the damage and the losses are just really saddening for the owner.

[ene1980]

~
The thieves definitely did some background research on the BTC ATM, no thief would just run onto it and try to bring the whole thing, I guess the vulnerability of Bitcoin ATMs is that some of it actually is easy to steal and pretty lightweight,

You have no idea how dumb people are, in the past one year you will find several criminal cases like this in the US alone and ATM robbery is nothing new as it is going on for decades and it will continue to go like that.

the fact that it only took a medium-sized van to take the whole thing together, and ATMs like this doesn't have that much security, I guess there's room for improvement on machines like this security-wise,

Armed guards near every counter is the only security measure they can take in situations like this and how much money these ATM companies will make if they are going to shell out money like that  .

although I do feel like the amount of that ATM won't be that much compared to hackers actually being able to breach through wallets online, but still, definitely ton of money inside that machine, also, it destroyed the whole entrance of that liquor store, so the damage and the losses are just really saddening for the owner.

No idea how much money is lost but there is no way the criminals are going to get the coins  .

[bhooscream]

I think the thieves assume that people can convert Bitcoin to cash through the ATM. So, they are intended to steal the cash, that's the reasonable reason. If they want to steal Bitcoin, they won't steal ATMs but trying to hack exchanges' wallets. Although it is not clear what the real purpose of the thieves, but I believe they did it to get instant money, which means stealing fiats (cash).

[yazher]

What can thieves take from a bitcoin ATM? does it contain fiat money like ATM in general? I don't know what the motive behind this theft is, because in the country where we live there are only banknote ATMs available. If bitcoin ATMs are vulnerable to being stolen, why doesn't the government place them in a place where guards watch out.

It has lots of money in it where when people wanted to buy bitcoins they put cash inside and they will get the number of bitcoins they paid for. The news on Twitter was actually good because it can be used as a prevention for the other bitcoin ATM all around the world. They will now double-check it in terms of its security and safety. These guys might not be newbies when it comes to stealing ATMs looks like they know what they're doing.

[pjwaffle]

Since the production of Fiat ATMs has improved so much over the years, robbers don't target them anymore. But I think robbing a BTC ATM is not a good idea as it cannot be used as such. fiat money just needs you to use a hammer and hit the money box, this involves both hardware, wallet code or scanning BTC QR code to crack is also really difficult. This robbery is such a stupid thing I have ever done think about . laugh out loud.

[Kasabus]

Since the production of Fiat ATMs has improved so much over the years, robbers don't target them anymore. But I think robbing a BTC ATM is not a good idea as it cannot be used as such. fiat money just needs you to use a hammer and hit the money box, this involves both hardware, wallet code or scanning BTC QR code to crack is also really difficult. This robbery is such a stupid thing I have ever done think about . laugh out loud.

I guess they are thinking that inside of bitcoin atm machine is a huge amount of money and that is why they prefer to robbed it than fiat. But what they did is definitely a fool's way of thinking. Aren't they aware that bitcoin has more strong security compared to fiat? No ones here really knows about their real motive but certainly it was a wrong move. And they can be put in jail instead. Now, that it has happened already, i think it should give lessons to its own developers to make it more secured not to be easily broken.   

[Pamadar]

Since the production of Fiat ATMs has improved so much over the years, robbers don't target them anymore. But I think robbing a BTC ATM is not a good idea as it cannot be used as such. fiat money just needs you to use a hammer and hit the money box, this involves both hardware, wallet code or scanning BTC QR code to crack is also really difficult. This robbery is such a stupid thing I have ever done think about . laugh out loud.

I guess they are thinking that inside of bitcoin atm machine is a huge amount of money and that is why they prefer to robbed it than fiat. But what they did is definitely a fool's way of thinking. Aren't they aware that bitcoin has more strong security compared to fiat? No ones here really knows about their real motive but certainly it was a wrong move. And they can be put in jail instead. Now, that it has happened already, i think it should give lessons to its own developers to make it more secured not to be easily broken.   

That's the good side of it. After it was reported, the manufacturer will be more careful now,
by adding secured layers or placing the machines in much safer places.

This robbery will serve as a waking sign for all those ATM owners, and looking to bright sides,
with kind of news, people who are unaware about Bitcoin will be curious about it, knowing that
criminals are after these machines.

Like with other's views, it's possible that those robbers think that bitcoin ATM is much easier
to break than those fiat machines, they are more likely after with the dollars inside.

[Nathrixxx]

Maybe the atm was mistook for the fiat one and moreover to me i see the Bitcoin atm is only meant to perform digital transactions whereby one can send and receive crypto unknowingly to them, i don't think any physical presence of Bitcoin is present, although their major intent is yet unknown but I think dey would have researched and found out that one or two devices enbedded inbthe atm could be useful and worth huge amount, or possibly they are the anti crypto category that which to just cause destruction on any crypto related activities.
Note its not everyone who is a fan of Cryptocurrency.

[bakasabo]

Maybe the atm was mistook for the fiat

I think not. I think they are just idiots. Take a look on the video. They even have a car number plate on.

They have chosen Bitcoin ATM on purpose. I think that their plan was to stay anonymous when they will try to exchange BTC (which they did not find inside) to fiat. To bad they were not smart enough to find out before what is Bitcoin and blockchain. I really dont believe that they intention was to "hack" ATMs software and get BTC.

When they will get caught, their cellmates will have a good laugh.

[Oasisman]

A lot of speculations on what's the main purpose of these thieves why they choose Bitcoin ATM over fiat ATM.
I gotta share my thoughts.
Maybe these people thought they could easily access or steal Bitcoin inside that ATM/wallet for them to hide their identities while spending those money.
I didn't personally see a Bitcoin ATM, but I'm a hundred percent sure that the digital asset cannot be accessed except the cash.
This always remain a puzzle for us unless one of them will be arrested and take into a serious interrogation.

[AicecreaME]

https://twitter.com/scottbudman/status/1446540818316070917

This is the surveillance video of the liquor store itself, showing how they stole it.

Maybe this will be the new trend for criminals, breaking and stealing Bitcoin ATM across US.

Hopefully the public can help identify this crooks.

It's really alarming that the robbers are going their way out to steal such as Bitcoin ATM. Are people really desperate during this time? I get it that we're all trying to survive amidst the pandemic, but these people sure do lengthy and desperate measures. IMO, stealing a bitcoin ATM isn't really worth the risk comparing to stealing a traditional ATM. I am not in any way encouraging them to steal the latter though, but it's more rewarding if they'll just take the traditional ATM because it contains more money, if money is what they're really all after.

If they think they'll be able to steal bitcoin from that bitcoin ATM, then I feel so sorry for them. Their efforts are just going to waste. If they are after the cold cash it has, they'll just be disappointed because like what I have mentioned, it contains lesser money since only a small population are using it. Maybe if they aren't really after the cash, they're after discovering the mechanisms of the machine.

[cheezcarls]

Lol it reminds me of this….



The thieves are trying to get some “coins” there, but they really don’t understand that there’s no such thing as physical Bitcoin.

I assume that the latest incident is the same where the thieves are thinking that the Bitcoin ATM has full of physical BTCs. They only knew about the popularity of Bitcoin, but they don’t know what it’s really all about. Just my opinion.

[Rufsilf]

https://twitter.com/scottbudman/status/1446540818316070917

This is the surveillance video of the liquor store itself, showing how they stole it.

Maybe this will be the new trend for criminals, breaking and stealing Bitcoin ATM across US.

Hopefully the public can help identify this crooks.

I know that this will eventually happen, stealing bitcoin ATM will be mostly a target and it wasn't a smart move either because they're just want the cash (fiat) they probably didn't know that it is impossible to steal bitcoins, and they're thinking that the ATM have a physical bitcoins on it.  Maybe that place was already under their surveillance for a couple of days or even weeks just to get that ATM.

Anyways, it's much safer to develop the bitcoin ATMs that have more security feature and cannot be stolen that easily.

[Theones]

It was a daring move by those thieves, wonder though how much they got with cash.

Maybe Bitcoin ATM should make their machine more secure so that it won't easily be taken like that. Similar to how secure fiat ATM is.

So it's time for the manufacturer to adjust their design as they will be the target of random attacks in the coming months.

It is possible that the thieves were not targeting the cash that was in this ATM. It is possible that they wanted to steal the machine, check security and develop a different, more sophisticated, possibly non-invasive or maybe even remote method of robbing Bitcoin ATMs. 

[fullhdpixel]

This is the surveillance video of the liquor store itself, showing how they stole it.

Maybe this will be the new trend for criminals, breaking and stealing Bitcoin ATM across US.

Hopefully the public can help identify this crooks.

Will they get anything from a bitcoin ATM, is that even possible? I don’t know much about Bitcoin ATM or how it works,but I don’t know if it’s possible for someone to steal anything from them. Bitcoin ATM is not like the normal ATM where money is stored inside the machine.

If a normal machine is stolen by the thieves, then we all know that they will be stealing the money that is stored inside, so then what are they doing with a bitcoin ATM since there is nothing stored inside? Unless they are planning to sell it or what? And for some people who are saying that bitcoin ATM should be made stronger, how exactly are you doing that,It is similar to a normal ATM?And wouldn’t they have stolen a fiat ATM if they wanted to?

[Bitstar_coin]

Nobody can know what the theives are after, but I believe it can be as a result of the theives thinking they can be able to access bitcoin through the ATM and also fiat while stealing only Bank ATM will make them able to only steal cash. They can even think to the extent that they can use the ATM to steal much more bitcoin as it is digital rather than fiat. But to steal bitcoin, that will be very impossible.

Lol! Same thing I thought of, perhaps the thieves thought there are btc inside the ATM for them to steal but little did they know that it is not what they think, if not why stealing a btc ATM, hope they will learn soon that there is no physical btc in any Bitcoin ATM's, with the surveillance video I hope the securities are able to apprehend them.

[terrorJR]

this is a new thing and will definitely be quite disturbing, instead of choosing an easier fiat they choose a bitcoin atm to break into,
These thieves already understand that bitcoin has become a good thing, and judging by the videos they have, they are fully committed to the equipment that is complete enough to steal.
but what are they looking for there? there is no way they are looking for bitcoins there because it's something that might even be hard to crack
it would be more likely they are looking for cash in it but I'm still confused about the motive of the thief

[South Park]

https://twitter.com/scottbudman/status/1446540818316070917

This is the surveillance video of the liquor store itself, showing how they stole it.

Maybe this will be the new trend for criminals, breaking and stealing Bitcoin ATM across US.

Hopefully the public can help identify this crooks.

I am not condoning those thieves or anything but at least we can say something about them, they got great taste however this is to be expected, as the popularity of bitcoin increases and its value with it we are going to see more and more crimes related to bitcoin, now obviously they stole the ATM because of the cash, but imagine this, they got a choice of which one to steal and they stole the bitcoin ATM, so basically they believed it would have more cash than the regular ATM and I find that to be quite interesting.

[Yamifoud]

https://twitter.com/scottbudman/status/1446540818316070917

This is the surveillance video of the liquor store itself, showing how they stole it.

Maybe this will be the new trend for criminals, breaking and stealing Bitcoin ATM across US.

Hopefully the public can help identify this crooks.

I am not condoning those thieves or anything but at least we can say something about them, they got great taste however this is to be expected, as the popularity of bitcoin increases and its value with it we are going to see more and more crimes related to bitcoin, now obviously they stole the ATM because of the cash, but imagine this, they got a choice of which one to steal and they stole the bitcoin ATM, so basically they believed it would have more cash than the regular ATM and I find that to be quite interesting.

And I hope they are happy with what they get from the inside of the ATM or it was just useless papers. They wrongly choose the ATM that never give them money and this kind of act will show how people are desperate to make money this time. This scenario will tell us that not all people already know about Bitcoin, how it use and its function. Because if these thieves know about it, they surely don't waste their time stealing it. They will choose the bank's ATM rather than this, which seems worthy to get imprisoned.

[mich]

First, I do not think criminals are more attracted to bitcoin than any other store of value.
I believe because bitcoin is relatively newer people suspect that it may be easier to game the system.
However with the transparency of the Blockchain, I think these heists will become a thing of the past quite quickly.
In the end, I think Bitcoin is actually much more secure from theft then traditional fiat currencies.

[DapanasFruit]

Now, it would be so funny to see the reaction of the thieves when they realized that Bitcoin is digital...hopefully they found some fiat cash in that machine. Anyway, this is just telling us that even bad criminals have already heard about Bitcoin and its astronomical value so they planned and executed this heist. Soon we can have a movie or a series based on this daring move by bad guys with the aim of maybe getting as many Bitcoin as they can.

[Botnake]

Now, it would be so funny to see the reaction of the thieves when they realized that Bitcoin is digital...hopefully they found some fiat cash in that machine. Anyway, this is just telling us that even bad criminals have already heard about Bitcoin and its astronomical value so they planned and executed this heist. Soon we can have a movie or a series based on this daring move by bad guys with the aim of maybe getting as many Bitcoin as they can.

I am sure that they are really aware of the current value of bitcoin so they chose to robbed it than the fiat machine. But they have been stupid hoping that they can steal bitcoin which is very impossible. I think they have been thinking right now how to get out from the situation but it's too late already. The police team have been hunting them for sure. Funny how this turned out to be a laughing stock in the end.

[Erumo]

Their stupidity is on the same level with

[The Sceptical Chymist]

Plot twist: the thieves stole the ATM with the intention of stealing the bitcoin rather than stealing the cash.

Lol.  I know that's (probably) not true, but it sure as hell would be funny if someone did something like this with that intention.  Well, funny in a dark humor kind of way.

And I hope they are happy with what they get from the inside of the ATM or it was just useless papers.

They probably were very happy with whatever they got, because fiat currency in the US isn't just useless paper.  If you found hundreds or thousands of dollars in a bag on the street, I assume you wouldn't just turn up your nose at it and keep walking.

I already regret putting Bitcoin Discussion on un-ignore status, seeing how many crap posts there are in this thread, the first one I clicked on.  But it's an interesting thread.

This story making the news isn't a good thing for BTCATMs, IMO.  Law enforcement and regulators are probably going to look at this and start thinking about new laws they can pass to protect us all.  I wouldn't be surprised if in a year or two we won't be seeing free-standing BTCATMs in gas stations and liquor stores.  Hopefully someone has a cache of photos of the ones that exist now, because they'll be fond memories in the not-too-distant future.

[bitterguy28]

Now crooks are getting into Online matter lol, they realized that sealing bitcoin is safer than fiat as it is not traceable not like the serial number of the currency.

but the thing is this happens in US? well anyway US has a tons of bitcoin ATM installed in the world.

no wonder why they target that specific liquor store, maybe they are having many bitcoin user in that area.

[DdmrDdmr]

Bumping this thread to show a similar case in Barcelona (Spain). Last night, around 7 or 8 hooded individuals broke in to a bitcoin store, and stole the bitcoin ATM that resided within, loading it into one of the two large vehicles they made their getaway with.

The first link below has the article google translated, and includes a couple of videos of the depicted events (observe the dodo wannabe thug, trying to help them out on their getaway). Chapeau for those that risked there neck to film the events.

The second link is the store itself that was robbed.

See:
https://cronicaglobal-elespanol-com.translate.goog/vida/robo-bitcoin-cajero-barcelona_563139_102.html?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=es&_x_tr_pto=nui
https://sarria.gbtcfinance.com/es/

Edit: Apparently, the ATM only had around 1K € inside ...

[SFR10]

Last night, around 7 or 8 hooded individuals broke in to a bitcoin store, and stole the bitcoin ATM that resided within, loading it into one of the two large vehicles they made their getaway with.

Looks like it's time for BTM manufacturers to redesign their BTMs, so it'd be harder for burglars to steal it ^{[not sure if there's a way]}!

Chapeau for those that risked there neck to film the events.

I'm surprised that they allowed those two to film the whole incident ^{[apart from the smoke]} without harming them.
^{- You can clearly see the license plates}
Btw, does anybody have an update on the liquor store thieves?

[bakasabo]

I am always amazed that often there is a guy who is filming such crimes from a close distance. He records faces and probably voices, plate numbers. These "directors" are either stupid and dont have the instinct of self-preservation. Because they can be killed or harmed as minimum. Or they can be with this robbers. Then there are even more questions - what do they film it for?

These robbers are another example of how uneducated some criminals are. They will amazed when they see the inside of the ATM.

P.S. Or this could be a Range Rover viral commercial. As both cars they use are new Range Rovers.

[Fortify]

This is the surveillance video of the liquor store itself, showing how they stole it.

Maybe this will be the new trend for criminals, breaking and stealing Bitcoin ATM across US.

Hopefully the public can help identify this crooks.

If America is anything like my country then we're probably going to see a lot more of these Bitcoin ATM heists in future. Demand for cash is falling as so much technology is allowing us to either pay through our phones or using contactless card technology. It's very helpful in a pandemic as well because it minimizes touching any surfaces which might be able to spread a virus between people. That means that traditional ATM's are going to be less needed in future and may start to get removed, however cryptocurrency is creating a high demand at the moment so we're more likely to see standard ATM's replaced by these Bitcoin ATM's. Any little bit of publicity will help it grow even further

[dkbit98]

Bumping this thread to show a similar case in Barcelona (Spain). Last night, around 7 or 8 hooded individuals broke in to a bitcoin store, and stole the bitcoin ATM that resided within, loading it into one of the two large vehicles they made their getaway with.

That is bad to see and I hope their license plate was recorded, but it can get much worse like in United States now.
People are mass robbing stores in broad daylight and nobody including security guards is doing anything to stop them, people just watch-record this with their phones, and police usually comes to late.
I am not sure how much cash is stored in those BTMs but I think it's much less than in regular ATMs that are probably refilled every day.
Stats are showing that number of BTMs is constantly rising worldwide, Bitcoin is getting more popular in msm, and that leads to rise of crime related with BTMs.

[DaveF]

Bumping this thread to show a similar case in Barcelona (Spain). Last night, around 7 or 8 hooded individuals broke in to a bitcoin store, and stole the bitcoin ATM that resided within, loading it into one of the two large vehicles they made their getaway with.

That is bad to see and I hope their license plate was recorded, but it can get much worse like in United States now.
People are mass robbing stores in broad daylight and nobody including security guards is doing anything to stop them, people just watch-record this with their phones, and police usually comes to late.
I am not sure how much cash is stored in those BTMs but I think it's much less than in regular ATMs that are probably refilled every day.
Stats are showing that number of BTMs is constantly rising worldwide, Bitcoin is getting more popular in msm, and that leads to rise of crime related with BTMs.

Around here, most of the in store stand alone ATMs are filled during the day when the store is open.
I have no idea when the BATMs are emptied but a few days of observation could probably get the information.
Taking them at night if they are emptied 1st thing in the morning might not be that bad of a plan.
If they are emptied at closing then it's a bad plan.
I'm guessing the cars are stolen too.

-Dave

[romero121]

This has taken place by mistake, because the thieves seems searching for a cash ATM and unfortunately they got to steal the bitcoin ATM. First itself if they've known about this being a bitcoin ATM the thieves might've left it. Now more and more number of bitcoin ATMs are getting installed all around USA through Walmart with the help of Coinstar and CoinMe.

Being in the liquor store makes me think those thieves were all drunk.