Virtual currency is a new and universal means of payment in the world wide web. However, the number of those who want to illegally assign the hard-earned electronic banknotes is growing every day. Do you want to know whether they can steal bitcoin? We have prepared for you a brief educational program on this topic.
A bit of theory
First, let's talk about the currency itself. Bitcoin was born in 2009. Place of birth and existence - the Internet. Bitcoin is actively used for mutual settlements, it can serve as a means of payment between the parties during the conclusion of the transaction, while the intermediary in the form of a bank is not required to make the payment. Thanks to a decentralized management system, this type of e-currency functions in the world wide web, not being controlled by any one company.
Bitcoin is easy. Most often, sellers accept e-currency without any commission. The problem is that both stock exchanges and e-wallet users are a tasty morsel for computer intruders. The Internet is full of stories about how hackers steal bitcoins. In addition, the price on the cryptocurrency market is constantly changing. As you can see, the number of risks is large enough, but this does not prevent many people from multiplying their own capital using Bitcoin.
Do you have bitcoin, what is the risk of losing it?
According to financial experts, there are at least six risks associated with cryptocurrency transactions.
- Illegality
You can pay in cash only with the consent of the seller. Individuals and companies are not required to accept this kind of money.
- Vulnerability
Computer systems based on the exchange of bitcoins, are vulnerable and may be subject to attacks from outside. Stolen bitcoins are easy to sell, so cyber crime is gaining momentum. Recently, cases of hacking e-wallets have become more frequent, and hacker attacks on the exchanges are constantly disturbing the owners of electronic accounts, who are familiar with how to bitcoins.
- Cyber \u200b\u200bmimicry and swindlers or how exactly the bitcoins steal
Another bitcoin risk is associated with mimicry, which is used by fraud sites. Forging the interface of exchange platforms and trading platforms, they conduct fake transactions, as a result of which the bitcoins withdraw from the client’s account into the unknown. It is impossible to cancel a transaction, and this is a rather sad fact. Another unpleasant moment - a large number of scammers who rubbed into the credibility of the users of the exchange. The result of the transaction - lost money.
- Lack of bank guarantees, or is it possible to steal Bitcoin with impunity?
Since the role of the intermediary bank in the calculation of Bitcoins is excluded, then it is pointless to talk about guarantees after the conclusion of the transaction.
- Criminal activity
Since transactions with the calculation in Bitcoins are almost 100 percent anonymous, they are often used for criminal purposes. The interest of law enforcement agencies to individual criminal elements may affect the operation of the exchange and will make people under the close attention of all those who use the services of such trading platforms.
In order to minimize the risks of using bitcoins, care should be taken and use the services of proven trading platforms and exchanges, avoid contact with anonymous dealers who know how to steal bitcoin. Also, in any case, do not specify your private key on all sorts of services or wallets, even in order to get fork of Bitcoin. And of course, no one should get access to your hot wallets and even more so cold. Store passwords only in verified places!
So, you decided to take advantage of the cryptocurrency market drawdown and bought a bitcoin or some other coin, or maybe you even traded on the stock exchange. How to save money? Now I will talk about the types of cryptocrescents and their features.
For a start, wallets are single currency and multi currency. The first work only with some one currency, the second supports many different ones. Further, the whole variety of single-currency and multi-currency wallets can be divided into two types according to the storage principle: Hot. Keeping money in hot storage is the same as carrying bills and coins in your pocket. Cryptocurrency in such wallets will always be at hand in access from any device. This is good for quick sending to the exchange, to exchangers or to other people, but bad from a security point of view, because the data, including the private key for sending funds, is stored on remote servers.
Cold. You kind of hide money under the floorboard or lock it in the safe. Such wallets do not need constant communication with the network. Private keys and money are stored on your device or paper. Yes, it is safe, but at the same time it is not very convenient if you need to send money urgently. All clear? And now more.
1. Controlled online wallets The easiest option to store the cue ball, the air and other crypts is to use a hot wallet on some service. People like blockchain.info and Cryptonator.com. Hot wallets are issued to users of the LocalBitcoins.com site and to crypto-counter traders.
Yes, it’s convenient and simple to keep money somewhere there, but the remote server can be hacked, confiscated by the feds, jammed with DDOS attacks, blocked by the government, stolen by aliens, and the stock exchange can also go bankrupt. Therefore, it is worth using such wallets only if you are planning to actively trade. It is better to withdraw the same money that you have decided to keep to cold wallets.
🔥 If you decide to keep money online, then be sure to enable two-factor authentication and go through verification. Login and password alone are too little for security!
2. Uncontrolled mobile and desktop wallets There you will have to tense up and install the corresponding applications on your PC or smartphone. Such wallets are safer than online ones, since private keys will be stored on your device, but they are also suitable for the rapid exchange of cryptocurrency. Since these wallets require an active internet connection, there remains the risk of hacking.
Jaxx, Exodus, Coinomi - one of the most popular uncontrolled wallets.
🔥 This type of wallets does not require registration via email or verification, so you keep your anonymity. However, this places on you full responsibility for access to your money, because if you lose the SEED phrase to your wallet and your payment password, then no one will help you.
3. Hardware wallets Pocket safes, specially designed devices for storing cryptocurrencies that look like a flash drive. Ledger Nano S is the most popular and secure hardware wallet. In addition to Bitcoin and “ether”, it supports Litecoin, Dash, Dogecoin, Bitcoin Cash, NEO, Ripple, Stellar, etc. The wallet is connected to the USB port of the computer, protected by a PIN code that you enter directly on the gadget, and a long phrase to restore 24 words - it is generated by the device itself without the help of a computer. For operations with cryptocurrency, you will need to install a wallet client on the computer.
There is also Trezor and KeepKey, but after information about the vulnerability in the ST32F05 chips appeared on the Internet, trust in these gadgets was undermined.
🔥 Complete with Ladger Nano S you will find a card with 24 passwords. Take care of it like the apple of your eye, because if your wallet breaks down or is lost, with one of these passwords you can order exactly the same from the manufacturer and recover your money.
4. Wat paper wallets ?! Yes. Boo-mage-e. But how?! Very simple. You create keys offline using the program WalletGenerator.net. You need to download the site code on the computer, disconnect from the Internet, then select the desired currency and generate the public and private keys in the program, which will then need to be printed on a piece of paper. The public key, for receiving money, can be safely distributed to all right and left. Closed to send, of course, you need to hide away.
🔥 Having created a paper wallet, it is as if you will go into the past - in those very times when money was paper. They could be touched, dropped from their pockets, lost in a fight with Gopnik, lost after a night with a dubious lady.
5. State wallets In Russia, such wallets do not yet exist, but, according to the recently published draft law of the Ministry of Finance “On digital financial assets”, they are about to appear. The trick is that the Ministry of Finance wants to prohibit Russians from buying and selling cryptocurrency without intermediaries, in the role of which will be “operators of digital financial asset exchange” - offices that comply with the laws “On the Securities Market” and “On Organized Trading”. These legal intermediaries will issue “digital wallets” for Russians to store the crypt, and only after complete identification of the person in accordance with the law “On Countering the Legalization (Laundering) of Criminally Income and the Financing of Terrorism”. What will happen to all those wallets I have talked about when the harsh plans of the Ministry of Finance are translated into reality? Are online wallets blocked? Will smartphones and computers be screened for illegal crypto applications? Will black-walled hardware and paper wallets be removed? .. Hmm, however, it’s all too much like a futuristic story worthy of the Black Mirror series.
If Bitcoins were stolen from the wallet, it is impossible to return the money in 99% of cases, because the operations in the cryptocurrency network are irreversible. In such a situation it is important to do two things - to accept and deal with the causes of the problem, so that it does not happen in the future. Consider how today they steal money from wallets, highlight the high-profile cases for 2018, and give recommendations on how to protect cryptocurrency against theft.
How to steal Bitcoins from wallets?
Over the past four years, attackers have cracked dozens of Bitcoin wallets and stole thousands of them from BTC. At the same time, not only Bitcoin owners suffer, but also users of other cryptocurrencies. For example, in 2017, more than 30,000 people suffered from fraud, and remained without e-currency Ethereum. On average, each of the victims lost about 7.5 thousand dollars. The growing number of thefts is due to several reasons - the carelessness of the owners, the presence of weak spots in third-party services, and the insufficient protection of some programs for storing cryptocurrency.
It is important to understand that Bitcoin does not have a physical basis, so stealing it in the usual sense (like cash) will not work. This is only possible if you have access to the public and private key. If the user is careful, the probability of theft is minimal or absent altogether. Below we consider the weaknesses that are used by attackers.
Theft from online wallets
A common situation when a cryptocurrency disappears from the wallets of third-party services. People save up virtual money and have to keep it somewhere. One option is a special platform that provides a base for creation. The creators of such resources are doing everything possible to simplify the process of storage and make the use of money convenient. In this case, the keys are in the system.
The following causes of loss of funds are possible here:
- The company that stores the user's money is abusing authority. She uses the fact that she has access to secret keys - she steals and transfers a certain amount to other accounts.
- In the program of the service, carrying out the storage of funds, there are errors that are used by attackers. If the exchange values \u200b\u200breputation, it deals with the problem and returns the stolen money.
Exchange Theft
Considering ways to steal Bitcoins from wallets, you should pay attention to cases with the conversion of virtual currency. It is known that exchange services for improving speed and convenience get access to private keys. Virtual money exchange is faster if the personal key is in the service that performs the operation. But there is another side to the coin.
If the site is hacked, confidential information will be in the hands of intruders. In addition, the company itself can make a decision about the completion of activities, followed by theft of customer money. In this situation, the return of funds is unlikely to succeed. In order to avoid problems, it is important to look for reliable exchangers that have been working in the market for a long time, they can boast a good reputation and positive reviews.
Phishing
Experts claim that most of the cryptocurrency thefts occur due to social phishing - one of the ways to “fake out” personal data from the user. The bottom line is simple. A letter arrives at the Bitcoin owner's e-mail address, and there is a link to the resource where you need to enter confidential information. If you do not pay attention to the address of the resource, you can go to the "fake" site and literally give personal information to attackers in the hands. Many users know that clicking on suspicious links is dangerous. But there is a category of careless cryptocurrency owners who fall for such a bait.
One type of phishing is creating fake ICO resources, as well as replacing wallets. Before performing any actions, it is important to check the correspondence of the address in official sources. You should not invest money through links that are received within instant messengers or chats.
Financial pyramids
Participants in financial pyramids often suffer from the actions of intruders. A well-known case is OpenCoin, which was positioned as a large project, but in practice it turned out to be a platform for luring funds from trusting cryptocurrency owners. The mentioned service had nothing - neither the blockchain, nor the community of participants of the cryptocurrency network. At the same time, the project creators assured people of the prospects for investments in the project.
You can never invest money on the recommendation of friends. More precisely, it is necessary to take information into account, but it is desirable to think only with your head. Do not pay attention to the beautiful stories, purchased reviews or graphics drawn in special programs, reflecting the potential increase in profits.
If you are persuaded to invest in any project - this is an obvious and main feature of the financial pyramid. Potential customers are lured by the standard promise of maximum profit with minimal risk. Interest is paid at the expense of new investors. As soon as the influx of users stops, payments stop, and the project disappears altogether. To avoid such risks, it is recommended to buy Bitcoin only through well-known stock exchanges.
Theft through banks
A common case of Bitcoin theft occurs during international transactions. The bottom line is simple. The second side of the deal talks about the difficulties with buying Bitcoin in the territory of his country and puts pressure on the pity of a potential seller. She offers to purchase virtual money at the best exchange rate. At the same time, the crook assures that he is ready to transfer the required amount first.
At first glance, the method is perfect and there are no risks. But it is not. If you study the forums, many people have lost a lot of money on this kind of "cooperation". After transferring money to a bank account, the Bitcoin seller sends the cryptocurrency to the buyer's wallet. It may seem that the transaction is successfully completed, but the story is just beginning. The second side writes a statement to the police about the theft of personal data in a bank account and a strange transfer to a bank account in another state. As a result, the financial institution blocks the transaction, and returns the funds to the original owner. In this situation, the return of money is unlikely to succeed.
Other ways
There are more and more cases when cybercriminals stole money from a Bitcoin wallet. People rely on the available protection and on the "chance." Many are sure that their troubles will be bypassed. Just such carelessness leads to problems. In addition to the options considered, there are other ways of hacking:
- Through the wifi network. There are cases when a user connects to a wireless network through an unsecured connection and loses money. With this scenario, the attacker completely controls the process of transferring funds and easily steals personal data.
- Theft from the computer. Often, users do not care about protecting their own PC from Trojans and viruses, due to which the computer is hacked and the secret key may end up in the hands of an intruder.
- Purchase of non-existent goods. Increasingly, there are situations when a person buys a product, but does not receive it in return. At the same time to return the cryptocurrency will not work.
- Stealing a flash drive or paper drive with a private key. User carelessness often knows no boundaries. People store funds on a flash drive or paper, but do not care about their safety. If the carrier falls into the hands of an attacker, the stolen coins will not be returned.
What wallets to use to protect against the theft of Bitcoins?
People who decide to invest in cryptocurrency, should carefully approach the choice of a wallet. It should be noted that the repositories are of two types (by the number of cryptocurrencies available for storage) - mono- and multicurrency. The first are intended only for one type of virtual money, and secondly, you can store several types of coins.
Further, all wallets are divided into "hot" and "cold." In the first case, the computer with the keys is always connected to the network. This method is convenient when you need to frequently conduct operations with cryptocurrency (exchange, sale, send to). In the second situation we are talking about the repository, access to which is closed from the outside. This method increases the level of security, but creates a number of inconveniences when urgent money transfer is required.
Online wallets
The easiest way to store virtual currency is to use the services of a special exchange platform or service that is ready to play the role of an online wallet. Examples are the Blockchain and Kryptonator services. This method is convenient, but the third-party site is always at risk. It can be hacked, attacked or blocked at any time.
In addition, there remains the risk that the organizers themselves will decide on the termination of the site’s activities (without returning money to the owners). Also remains the risk of bankruptcy. In such wallets it is worth keeping small amounts, which are used for trading, and the main money to bring to the "cold" wallets. In extreme cases, it is recommended to enable 2-factor authentication and pass verification in order to reduce the risk of theft.
Mobile and software wallets
A more reliable solution is to spend a little time and put a desktop or mobile wallet on your PC. In such wallets, lost Bitcoins are rare, because the level of protection against intruders is higher. Personal keys are stored on a personal device, which ensures greater security. But the risk of hacking still remains, because the PC or the phone on which the storage is installed is connected to the Network.
Popular wallet options are Exodus, Jaxx, Electrum and others. The advantages of these are that they do not require users to register or pass identity checks, thereby ensuring complete confidentiality. In this case, the responsibility for the safety of funds lies with the owner. If you lose your password or SEED phrases, you will not be able to recover funds.
Hardware wallets
A more reliable storage option is a purchase that looks like a flash drive and implies a “cold” option of saving money (without connecting to the Network). A well-known device - Ledger Nano S, which is characterized by ease of use and safety. It can store not only Bitcoins, but also a number of other virtual coins.
The wallet is connected via USB, protected by a PIN and a special phrase that the device itself generates using a PC. In case of loss or breakdown of the device, this information helps to return the money.
There are other hardware wallets - Tresor and KipKay, but their use is less secure. Recently, information appeared on the Web about the presence of weak spots in ST32F05 microprocessors, which undermined the credibility of such wallets.
Paper storage
Many believe that the most reliable long-term storage option is easy to do through the special service walletgenerator.net. The algorithm of actions is to select a cryptocurrency and generate keys (private and open) using a script, and then print them on a sheet of paper.
Despite the reliability of the method, other problems are possible. Increasingly, complaints such as “lost Bitcoin wallet, what to do?” Appear on the forums. In most cases, we are talking about paper vaults, the loss of which is unacceptable.
In conclusion, we note that with the approval of the new draft law on cryptocurrency of the Russian Federation, in 2018 the emergence of government wallets is possible. The bottom line is that the Ministry of Finance plans to ban cryptocurrency operations directly, without official intermediaries. The latter will fulfill the function of state cryptocrescents. What fate befalls the existing storage, is still unknown.
How to steal Bitcoins from wallets in 2018?
Despite the improvement of the cryptocurrency network, the theft of Bitcoin from user repositories continues. Let us single out a number of thematic news for 2018 concerning large losses in the cryptocurrency sphere:
- On February 16, there was news that a group of hackers from Ukraine, with the help of Google, stole BTC for $ 50 million. Phishing resources were used for theft, which duplicated the blockchain.info wallet with accuracy. Interestingly, fake sites were displayed not only in the standard search results, but also in Google ads.
- April 17 came the news that one US blogger lost two million dollars during an online broadcast on YouTube. The victim of the attackers was Jan Balina, who was telling live about virtual money and ICO. The blogger tried to cancel the scam operation, but his actions did not bring results. After some time, Balina confirmed that his money was indeed stolen. As Yang himself admitted, the reason was the use of the old e-mail, allowing you to reset the password. In addition, the private and shared keys to the cryptocurrency were in the Evernote cloud service, which made it easier to crack the wallets.
- On April 16, Network users learned about the theft of $ 3.5 million from one of India’s cryptocurrency exchanges. A total of 438 Bitcoins were stolen. According to representatives of the site, the money was lost due to the theft of private keys.
- On April 30, it was reported that Pavel Durov had suffered from intruders, who had been led away Bitcoin via a fake Twitter account. In particular, hackers hacked Twitter of the Club 8 group from Sweden and made an account of it into Telegram from it. The situation occurred immediately after the problems with the messenger. In the discussions on behalf of Durov, the attackers wrote gratitude to Twitter users for their patience and offered to participate in the raffle of cryptocurrency, respectively. At the same time, users had to send small amounts to certain wallets. 30 minutes was enough to lure about 1 Bitcoin.
What to do if Bitcoins are stolen from the wallet and how to protect the funds?
It is important to understand that problems with the theft of cryptocurrencies can affect all users of the Network. Unfortunately, the question - what to do if Bitcoins were stolen from the wallet is more rhetorical. Return the funds if the identity of the attacker is unknown, is impossible. The exception is when the victim managed to find out the name of the thief, or the problem arose due to the hacking of the exchange platform. In order to preserve the reputation, the exchanges solve the problem independently and return the money.
In other cases, users must take care of capital and protect the cryptocurrency from unauthorized persons. Highlight the main options:
- Keeping secret keys offline. Alternatively, print such a key on paper or use the capabilities of CryptoHex (one of the innovations of the cryptocurrency industry). Unlike paper carrier, CryptoHex cannot be destroyed, because the product is made of metal, it is not afraid of moisture and fire.
- Use secure connection. One of the methods of protection is the use of secure Wi-Fi. It is better to connect through a home network, the password from which is no longer known to anyone. Of course, with this approach, the likelihood of a cyber attack remains, but it is minimal.
- The use of reliable anti-virus system and its update. It is important to understand that most Bitcoin thefts are carried out with the help of viruses or worms.
- Set strong passwords on Bitcoin wallets. It is important to use a security code that is hard to crack. You should not use the date of birth, the names of your relatives and other passwords that can be easily calculated by logical means.
- Careful transition on the links. To protect money, you can not follow suspicious URLs (links) that come in chat rooms or in mailboxes. Scammers often make fake sites that are no different from real ones. After entering information on such a resource, information (including private keys) may end up in the hands of intruders.
How to protect Bitcoins and cryptocurrency in general from being stolen, see the following video:
About stealing money from the Coinomi wallet, we received another request from the user with a similar problem. From myself we add that the administration of the wallet does not respond to complaints, there is still no sane answer.
Hello, there is a similar situation with my coinomi wallet, like that of Alexander Yakovlev.
When I learned that the btg fork was working, first of all I created the Coinomi wallet on a separate device, except for the Coinomi wallet, there was nothing else on this device - just an empty tablet.
Further, on my smartphone, I pulled btg from several wallets and transferred them to the Coinomi account that I created on the tablet. After btg came successfully, I was in no hurry to exchange them, I followed the situation, one day, seeing that the exchange rate was falling rapidly, I decided to sell them through the Changelly service in the same Coinomi, after making the exchange I received btc. After 20 minutes, re-opened the tablet, and found that my btc went in an unknown direction.
As in Alexander's wallet, the amount left me more than I had.
BTG from this wallet funds were transferred to the benefit of the service Changelly: https://btgexp.com/address/GX
BTC: https://blockchain.info/ru/address/vX
Also screenshots from the tablet are attached as an attachment.
When I wrote this letter, I remembered that I inserted phrases, as I found out now in the pouch the wallet mybtgwallet.com, which bitcoingold.com itself advertised on its website as the official wallet.
The fact that this is a scam service, I learned in this article http://bitcoinwhoswho.com/blog/2017/11/16/million-dollar-mybtgwallet-scam/
At the moment on the bitcoin.gold website there is not a single word about it, but through the archive.org cache service you can see that the link to mybtgwallet.com existed.
There are different ways to steal bitcoin. With the help of several methods, unscrupulous and company steal your bitcoins. Consider the most frequent options.
How can you steal Bitcoin from a wallet
From the beginning of the opening of companies for the industry, there are complaints from customers that bitcoins were stolen from them, and technical support is unable to resolve the problem.
If you have any number of bitcoins, they need to be stored somewhere. You contact the company that provides the platform to create. Suppliers of cryptocars, trying to make the procedure of organizing and managing accounts as easy as possible, for this key are often stored in the system.
- Some companies may be misusing the fact that they have access to your private key. They simply transfer customer funds to other accounts.
- Perhaps the loss and lack of enrollment is the result of weak software and errors. Because often, after the proceedings, the money is restored.
Complaints of this kind are found in the address of any company specializing in organizations for bitcoins. It should be borne in mind that part of the complaints are the machinations of competitors. Traditionally, large, multi-year payment systems for virtual currencies value customers.
The digital industry itself is quite young, like most of the service firms for Bitcoin and the rest of the cryptocurrencies. Many companies are less than five years old, for the formation of a strong reputation is not enough.
The risks are really maximum when the user decides to trust the new company, or when the owners of the system offer too attractive conditions, such as low commissions and benefits, which are more profitable than those existing in the market.
How can you steal bitcoins in the exchange
Sometimes wallets crack, get access to secret keys and change to their own.
Like wallets, services usually have access to private keys for easy operations. It is much easier to make transactions when your private key is stored in the exchanger. If such a service is hacked or the organizers decide to cease operations and steal money, you can hardly fix it.
You should look for a reliable exchange company, studying reviews and comments on the forums and thematic sites.
How else can bitcoins be stolen
Non-existing goods from unscrupulous counterparties are another way to steal Bitcoins.
There is no money back in the cryptosystem, the committed transaction is irreversible. If the seller decides not to send the goods you purchased and not return the money back, you can not do anything. Just fall victim to a scam organized to steal bitcoins.
If the secret key is stored on the computer, and the hacker hacks and finds the keys, he will get access to your account and may steal the bitcoins. An attacker can be both human and spyware.
Of course, you can steal keys that are stored on paper or flash drive. Especially a careless gullible owner.
Thus, the most common way to steal Bitcoins is to access your private key.
