New times, new strategies, new goals. The boom – at low hours – that cryptocurrencies have chained for years, hasn’t just ignited investor creativity; it also led criminals to seek new ways to seize their loot. After all, why steal a wallet full of bills and cards when you can buy a mobile phone, access a bitcoin account, and transfer the equivalent of several thousand euros easily and securely?

Dystopian fiction sounds like a futuristic spin on noir novels. “pickpockets 4.0” included, but unfortunately that’s something that already happens. Quite often too. just appeared Guardian In a report that noted a wave of “crypto attacks” in London. In some cases, thieves have managed to get a single hit of over 10,000 euros.

“A little crypto heist”, author David Gerard explains Attack on 50 Foot Blockchain, to the British newspaper. How do they do this? And why exactly are they looking for cryptocurrencies?

Pickpockets hunt for cryptocurrency

The first question is not so mysterious. As complicated as it sounds, “crypto heists” have nothing to do with white collar robberies or complex operations. malware. In practice, it’s pretty much the same as the heists of a lifetime, on the edge of the knife and in places less traveled. The difference is that the criminals look for the cell phone, not the wallet and watch – or at least not the only one. And they don’t go for a small change. they want the keys to access cryptocurrency platforms. Of course, they need knowledge on how to work with accounts.

One button for example. While London agents don’t go into details of each of the cases or provide an age, date or profile, their role helps to gain an insight into how “crypto coups” are taking place in London. In one of the cases, the criminal approached a person who vomited under the bridge, forced him to unlock his smartphone, changed his security settings and stole a substantial sum of £28,700, including cryptocurrency.

Another of the victims, who went to the London police station, reported that a group of people approached him to offer him drugs. At the time of purchase, he gave his smartphone to criminals so they could type in a contact phone number; But instead they accessed his account, pinned him to the wall and forced him to unlock a face verification app. They bought 6,000 lira..

Guardian It also chronicles the case of Zaryn Dentzel, who claimed that Tuenti founder Zaryn Dentzel was stabbed in Madrid by masked men and originally claimed bitcoin was stolen from him. The biggest challenge for the police, however, is that the robberies are committed on a seemingly opportunistic basis, without elaborate planning, much like those that have hitherto been carried out to steal wallets or cell phones on the street. That’s the profile the London cases fit in.

As for the other question, why “crypto heists”, the answer is obvious: their advantage for thieves. “If I get robbed and forced to make a wire transfer, bank can follow where did the money go and there are all kinds of returns. The process can be reversed. If I transfer cryptocurrencies to my wallet, you can’t get them back,” says Gerard.

There may be ways to track criminals used in grand theft cases, for example targeting buyer accounts of cryptocurrencies or fiat exchanges; however, it requires significant resource allocation.

Another important factor is how victims manage investments from their mobile phones. “Somehow they don’t think it’s money,” Gerard complains. One of the robberies recorded in London was actually recorded after the victim used his smartphone in a bar. When he went to the police station, he suspected that the robbers had seen him enter the password of his account. They finally got £10,000 With the Crypto.com investment platform.

Cover Image | Max Bender (Unsplash)