‘GothFerrari’ Sentenced to 78 Months in Prison for Role in Massive Cryptocurrenc

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‘GothFerrari’ Sentenced to 78 Months in Prison for Role in Massive Cryptocurrency Heist
https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/gothferrari-sentenced-78-months-prison-role-massive-cryptocurrency-heist

Privacy is very important, this is not just about the person, Marlon Ferro, 20, of Santa Ana, California, who was sentenced today in U.S. District Court to 78 months in prison in connection with his role in a sprawling social engineering conspiracy that stole well over $250 million in cryptocurrency from victims across the United States, it is about privacy.

When the scammers are finding it difficult to do their scam, they turned to people by entering the people's home to steal their hardware wallet. The name of the hardware wallets that were stolen most was not mention, but it will not be a surprise for me if it is Ledger Nano wallets.

Some people may reveal themselves of having hardware wallet. Also buying hardware wallet directly from the company is becoming something not safe and also it is very bad to let people know that you have a hardware wallet.

How do you think these people are knowing who has hardware wallet at home?

It is good that he has been sentenced to years in prison.

[Hatchy]

The only way someone will know you have a gun in your house is when you tell them about it. Same thing with hardware wallet but this would not scare them aware, instead make you a potential target for their criminal activities. We have been witnessing different stories about how people end up being victims of crypto scam for years now but many still don't learn their lessons from story of others. They have failed to keep their privacy and the whereabouts of their cryptocurrency hidden. I know some people might want to impress their friends or neighbours by telling them a good story of how they managed to become some big crypto guru's but with the security risk we have today you are only putting your life in danger.

[Davidvictorson]

Hardware wallets are not the one-stop for safety. While in reality one may feel safe if they have it and their crypto in it, in reality what we have seen is that they do not protect against social engineering attacks. Keep your information out of public eye to avoid being exposed and getting targeted. I know that the criminals will always be caught but that does not undo the damage done to victims..

[DaveF]

There was a thread last month with someone creating a program for a Commodore 64 that could generate BTC private keys: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5580063

More of a can I do it thing then anything else.

Someone made a comment that putting one in a gameboy would we cool, and I made this off hand comment:

...I always thought putting a wallet in something that most people would have laying around their house BUT has no collector or implied value might not be a bad thing. But you have to be careful, using the original GameBoy is cool BUT there is a real collectors value to it a thief might take it.
Putting it in an old exercise bike is not a lot more difficult then the GameBoy since a lot of them around the late 90s early 2000s used small LCD screen and similar tech to GameBoys and other handheld games of the era to display things about the ride you are doing. And in the event of a robbery no thief is going to lug a couple of hundred pounds of exercise bike out of your house. Perhaps not the best example but you get the idea.

-Dave

We all know what Trezors or Ledgers or if you are into crypto what a ColdCard looks like.

I don't like the bitkey for many reasons but at least it does not look like a wallet: https://bitkey.world/
Even the bithd watch may not get taken or noticed: https://bithd.com/watch2/

Yeah someone KNOWING what you have and looking for it is going to be trouble.
But if you *might* have some crypto and they don't know how you have it stored then having a HW wallet that does not look like a HW wallet might not be the worst.

-Dave

[Alphakilo]

This kind of attack could have only been the work of a well calculated individual identification system maybe from data leaked after a major hack like what happened to ledger in 2020.
The best bet to stay safe is to bear in mind that since holding cryptocurrencies make you automatically a bank on your own, just like regular banks with security guards on duty, you should be security conscious as your own security guard, so as to avoid such wrench attacks.

We could stay safe by using P.O boxes instead of using your home address, use masked email address for purchasing hardware wallet, use alternative names like pseudonyms for shipping names.

[adultcrypto]

When the scammers are finding it difficult to do their scam, they turned to people by entering the people's home to steal their hardware wallet. The name of the hardware wallets that were stolen most was not mention, but it will not be a surprise for me if it is Ledger Nano wallets.

Some people may reveal themselves of having hardware wallet. Also buying hardware wallet directly from the company is becoming something not safe and also it is very bad to let people know that you have a hardware wallet.

How do you think these people are knowing who has hardware wallet at home?

It is good that he has been sentenced to years in prison.

This is something worrisome because hardware wallets are safe ways of storing bitcoin, now that they becoming a target, I wonder how people will be able to safely store their bitcoin. It is not all the victims of this case that may have revealed their possession of bitcoin, thieves might just brake into someone's house and the first thing they ask is anout cryptocurrwncy. I have been thinking since about what should be the best thing to do to remain safe since all the safe methods we know are being explored by scammers and thieves.  Perhaps we can learn to store bitcoin kn parts and across multiple places.

[fullfitlarry]

This kind of attack could have only been the work of a well calculated individual identification system maybe from data leaked after a major hack like what happened to ledger in 2020.
The best bet to stay safe is to bear in mind that since holding cryptocurrencies make you automatically a bank on your own, just like regular banks with security guards on duty, you should be security conscious as your own security guard, so as to avoid such wrench attacks.

Not anyone can afford a security guard. Yes, it comes from data leaked. This well organized crime has someone buying from the dark web data of crypto users and then potentially isolating which one they can call for social engineering. And if that didn't work, they are going to attack the person physically breaking into his or her house and force to reveal the seed phrase.

We could stay safe by using P.O boxes instead of using your home address, use masked email address for purchasing hardware wallet, use alternative names like pseudonyms for shipping names.

But if your data has been leaked, it's very hard to stop this criminals, unless you change your name so that they can't follow you. Even if you switches houses, but your government name will still be there, so they can go and locate you.

[Darker45]

I think anybody can easily make presumptions. If I know that somebody is into Bitcoin, for example, that's a good start. If I hear him/her speak and he/she appears serious about investing in Bitcoin and self-custody, that's almost a definite confirmation right away. That means there's 90% chance this man or woman keeps a hardware wallet at home. That's enough for him/her to become a prospect to a Bitcoin robber. That's why, as much as possible, I wouldn't openly talk about Bitcoin.

[Furball808]

Hardware wallets are not the one-stop for safety. While in reality one may feel safe if they have it and their crypto in it, in reality what we have seen is that they do not protect against social engineering attacks. Keep your information out of public eye to avoid being exposed and getting targeted. I know that the criminals will always be caught but that does not undo the damage done to victims..

Hardware wallets and software wallets both possess different kinds of threats. Just because one is safe from the other’s dangers doesn’t mean we can afford to be reckless and careless. Most would probably say that hardware is safer but the physical location is also a thing to consider. Think about where to store it. Who could access it. Even environmental factors can be dangerous to your wallet.

[Die_empty]

Some people may reveal themselves of having hardware wallet. Also buying hardware wallet directly from the company is becoming something not safe and also it is very bad to let people know that you have a hardware wallet.

How do you think these people are knowing who has hardware wallet at home?

It is good that he has been sentenced to years in prison.

According to the document you cited, these fraudsters engaged in online hacking, target identification and fraudulent phone calls. This shows that they might have gotten information about their targets through hacks and other online mediums. If buying hardware wallets from the producers has become unsafe, where else can one buy them from? If they got the information from the company, it would mean that some workers are selling information to these criminals.

I think people should be careful about the information they give out online. Some people are so free online that they can tell strangers that they own crypto. Some join crypto social media; this might be another way to give out your information to scammers.

https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/pr/gothferrari-sentenced-78-months-prison-role-massive-cryptocurrency-heist

[ContentWriter]

When the scammers are finding it difficult to do their scam, they turned to people by entering the people's home to steal their hardware wallet. The name of the hardware wallets that were stolen most was not mention, but it will not be a surprise for me if it is Ledger Nano wallets.

Some people may reveal themselves of having hardware wallet. Also buying hardware wallet directly from the company is becoming something not safe and also it is very bad to let people know that you have a hardware wallet.

How could you be so sure that it is a Ledger Nano? It's not as if there is a way of acessing all Ledger Nano wallets funds if you get your hands on the physical wallet. The question we should ask is how they actually extract the funds from the wallets after stealing them since there is no report that says they force the victims to release passwords and seed phrases.

“Marlon Ferro served as the criminal enterprise’s instrument of last resort. When his co-conspirators couldn’t deceive victims into handing over access to their cryptocurrency or hack their way into digital accounts, they turned to Ferro to break into homes and steal hardware wallets outright,” said U.S. Attorney Pirro.

[Mpamaegbu]

How do you think these people are knowing who has hardware wallet at home?

People are loquacious. I believe that's one of the greatest undoing of this generation and it counters what privacy should be. People want validation. They want to be seen to be woke and as such they announce most of the things they do. I see similar situation around me, people acting like they're making money online but they're barely hanging in there.

It is good that he has been sentenced to years in prison.

News like that gladden my heart. I want as many of these scammers to be caught and thoroughly dealt with. Scammers have really dealt with us in this industry. It's about time we returned the same aura to them.

[aoluain]

I think anybody can easily make presumptions. If I know that somebody is into Bitcoin, for example, that's a good start. If I hear him/her speak and he/she appears serious about investing in Bitcoin and self-custody, that's almost a definite confirmation right away. That means there's 90% chance this man or woman keeps a hardware wallet at home. That's enough for him/her to become a prospect to a Bitcoin robber. That's why, as much as possible, I wouldn't openly talk about Bitcoin.

Thats it, they obviously worked on known to them individuals who expressed interest in crypto
and sought to try and con them out of their coins and when that didnt work this 20 year old
scumbag physically stole the hardware wallets. They definitely had their homework done by
robbing a wallet with 100 Bitcoin.

Now as others asked - Im wondering did the owners of those wallets  not have the security
details for the wallets in a secure and discrete location. Its one thing stealing a hardware wallet
but isnt it impossible to access it without the seed phrase and or pass phrase?

There was a thread recently advocating to not advertising that you own Bitcoin. And nany more
over the years too.

Bitcoin, ransom-related challenges, globalization, facilities, and impact

[bitbollo]

...
How do you think these people are knowing who has hardware wallet at home?
...

Probably like the French cases there was a kind of insider of some specific technology that allow to find some of these data (likewise they registered in a scam website or their data have been purchased online).
The real problem could be the strong knowledge on this matter... It's clear this has been done on purpose...
There was a similar case in Italy (described in first view by forum member) of a thief in a private house. They took everything except usb/wallets and so on....

[buwaytress]

I know I should be looking it up myself, but I'm old and prefer others to do the work for me, but did they recover the money? If it's crypto, and the kid knows what he's doing, he might have squirreled away a little of it for himself (I want to say he absolutely did but he's a kid, who knows?).

6 years to get fit in prison and maybe even study for a Masters or two for even 1 % of that money to come back to? Quite possibly a good investment.

[Majestic-milf]

I know I should be looking it up myself, but I'm old and prefer others to do the work for me, but did they recover the money? If it's crypto, and the kid knows what he's doing, he might have squirreled away a little of it for himself (I want to say he absolutely did but he's a kid, who knows?).

6 years to get fit in prison and maybe even study for a Masters or two for even 1 % of that money to come back to? Quite possibly a good investment.

According to what I read, its understood that the authorities have recovered some but not all the $250m and are still working on it. The authorities were able to seize some luxurious items like cars and watches. Ferro Marlon has been asked to pay $2.5m as restitution fees as well so in terms of wondering if the kid squirreled some of the funds away, I doubt that he'd think that far because he and his cohorts decided to spend the cash on lavish lifestyle.

[Nathrixxx]

How do you think these people are knowing who has hardware wallet at home?

The first question we should have asked ourselves is that are we buying from a reliable vendor or supplier, do you even care about buying directly from the organization, some of these hardware wallet would have been placed in microchips that can be used in tracking our location or wallet, also when buying, some leave their personal information, while some users also take the risk of announcing themselves on the social media on what they bought and also don't mind about exposing their location as well.

[Charles-Tim]

Hardware wallets are not the one-stop for safety. While in reality one may feel safe if they have it and their crypto in it, in reality what we have seen is that they do not protect against social engineering attacks. Keep your information out of public eye to avoid being exposed and getting targeted. I know that the criminals will always be caught but that does not undo the damage done to victims..

How about people that bought their wallet directly from Ledger Nano, but their emails, home address and other personal information were breached and known to bad people? It can get to the point that the information can be sold.

You can see how mails were sent to Ledger owners. Not emails, I am referring to mails.

The first question we should have asked ourselves is that are we buying from a reliable vendor or supplier, do you even care about buying directly from the organization, some of these hardware wallet would have been placed in microchips that can be used in tracking our location or wallet, also when buying, some leave their personal information, while some users also take the risk of announcing themselves on the social media on what they bought and also don't mind about exposing their location as well.

But the best is to make yourself a wallet on an airgapped device. Sometimes, the fault is from the seller. Even customers information are not safe from the company that produced the hardware wallets.

[Smartprofit]

I consider having a hardware wallet a weak link in your security system. And I'm not even mentioning that some hardware wallets are closed-source. This is a red flag for any true cyberpunk. 🙋

When you buy a hardware wallet, you're interacting with the real world. This makes you vulnerable in every way. I'm not saying you shouldn't interact with the real world. However, every time there's a connection between Bitcoin and the real world, it creates a serious security threat. The hardware wallet seller knows your appearance, your email address, your postal address, and your place of residence. This is a serious blow to your anonymity and privacy.

Furthermore, everyone now knows what a hardware wallet looks like and how it differs from other devices. Consequently, you're exposed to additional threats of attack from robbers, scammers, and law enforcement. Recently, in a thread on this forum, members from South Africa reported that Bitcoin is now banned in their country.  They reported that their hardware wallets were confiscated right at airports (when they tried to leave the country). In situations like these, owning a hardware wallet is simply dangerous... 🤷

[Ucy]

Well, crypto would be more attractive to thieves due mostly to anonymity it offers. The thieves can easily steal hardware wallets or even private keys at owners home and transfer their coins to addresses with no identifiable owners, unlike in digital fiat world where identification is required to own an account.

Anonymity also benefits innocent crypto users because the thieves won't be able to have access to their real identities that reveal their locations where they could go to steal their coins they probably revealed publicly.

If you are dealing with bitcoins you can't afford to lose, be sure to minimize the amount of private information you reveal publicly or handover to strangers.