Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

About $1.2 Billion in Cryptocurrency Stolen Since 2017 (reuters.com)

Posted by msmash on from the for-the-record dept.

Criminals have stolen about $1.2 billion in cryptocurrencies since the beginning of 2017, as bitcoin's popularity and the emergence of more than 1,500 digital tokens have put the spotlight on the unregulated sector, according to estimates from the Anti-Phishing Working Group released on Thursday. From a report: The estimates were part of the non-profit group's research on cryptocurrency and include reported and unreported theft. "One problem that we're seeing in addition to the criminal activity like drug trafficking and money laundering using cryptocurrencies is the theft of these tokens by bad guys," Dave Jevans, chief executive officer of cryptocurrency security firm CipherTrace, told Reuters in an interview.

21 of 53 comments (clear)

  1. Out of the total market? by OrangeTide · · Score: 1

    $1.2B is pretty massive out of a $800B - $1T market.

    If 0.1% of your bank transactions were stolen with a 20% recovery rate we'd all be really pissed and demand government regulations.

    --
    “Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
    1. Re:Out of the total market? by captbollocks · · Score: 1

      I believe credit card fraud is higher both in value and percentage terms, and the banks just build it into the credit card charges we pay...

    2. Re:Out of the total market? by slew · · Score: 2

      Why do you think credit card transaction fees exist?

      It's to cover fraud/theft with some margin for profit.

      Unfortunately transaction fees don't cover the costs for fraud/theft. Basically credit card issuing banks are permitted to charge usury interest rates from people who carry monthly balances (and demographically are generally poor) to make their profit.

      The merchants and issuing banks pay transaction fees to the VISA/MC, but the banks charge the interest (and assume the fraud/theft risk).

      Just last year, VISA+MC received only $7.8B+$6.1B in worldwide transaction processing fees, but Citibank (one of the largest V/M card issuers ~15%) made a whopping $4B in credit card interest on a loan balance of $146B in the USA and Canada alone.

      Note the transaction fees are not only payed to Visa/MC, payment processors (like square) also take a cut of the fees paid by merchants before it even gets to Visa/MC.

      (fwiw, Visa also made $6B on currency exchange operations last year which is a profit center for them nearly equivalent to transaction processing fees).

      And if you are wondering where them money for "rewards" cards come from, basically it comes directly from the merchants who pay more to payment processors to clear rewards cards than cards without rewards...

    3. Re:Out of the total market? by arglebargle_xiv · · Score: 1

      $1.2B is pretty massive out of a $800B - $1T market.

      $1.2B is pretty massive in actual, real money. If someone steals $1.2B in household appliances, or oil, or gold, or Apple shares, or whatever, that's a serious amount. This is $1.2B in imaginary currency. They may as well be complaining about 1.2 billion Zorkmids, or Flanian Pobble beads, or Ankh-Morpork dollars, or Silver Stags being stolen.

    4. Re:Out of the total market? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      The adjective is usurious, you boong.

  2. "Stolen" by Gravis+Zero · · Score: 2

    I think we know what really happened. #UsedToBeABitcoinBillionaire ;)

    --
    Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
  3. Does anyone happen to know by AlanObject · · Score: 1

    Of the reported $1.2B, how much of that is because naive BC traders uploaded their private keys to some site that turned out to be not trustworthy?

    I have used my Wells Fargo account online since before the bank itself actually had user-directed online services. I actually started by using "Check Free" via dial-up modem. I have never lost even one cent to theft (unless you count unreasonable bank fees -- and I had all those reversed.)

    So is this a crypt-currency flaw or irresponsible/unprepared website operator problem?

    1. Re:Does anyone happen to know by ole_timer · · Score: 3, Informative

      the way crypto currency works there is no bank involved. you load the "wallet" as a file onto your system that says how much you have and you generate a private key to open the wallet. you pay for the contents of the wallet. then as you spend (anonymously) the wallet is reduced by the block chain to show your spend and balance. idiots don't protect their wallet and private key as cash, so they get ripped off. stupido dumbo.

      --
      nothing to see here - move along
    2. Re:Does anyone happen to know by ole_timer · · Score: 1

      anyone that uploads their private key deserves to get fleeced.

      --
      nothing to see here - move along
  4. Isn't the bigger news by rsilvergun · · Score: 3, Informative

    that the Justice Dept is criminally investigating people involved in fixing the price of bitcoin?

    --
    Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
  5. So what? by jdharm · · Score: 1

    About $1.2 Billion in Monopoly Money Stolen Since 2017

    There, fixed that for you.

  6. Re:What is the value ... by Registered+Coward+v2 · · Score: 1

    Everyone looks at me like I’m a total idiot but I just carried on as normal because my brain is still thinking: surfing the web and not the much more obvious surfing with wet suits that smell like our office does. I’m guessing the bit I didn’t hear was the word wetshits.

    If that was the oder I'd be a bit concerned about the space...

    --
    I'm a consultant - I convert gibberish into cash-flow.
  7. WoW by Gilgaron · · Score: 1

    How much WoW gold was stolen since 2017? I got ripped off on a socketed tower shield with diamonds in it in Diablo II once, too.

    1. Re:WoW by Gilgaron · · Score: 1

      Here I was making a joke and your reply makes me realize I've become a troll instead...

  8. Shocked! by Hognoxious · · Score: 1

    I'm shocked at how low it is.

    --
    Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
  9. Does this number include.... by barakn · · Score: 1

    ... cryptocurrency intentionally paid to the operators of ransomware? And yeah, I didn't RTFA.

    --
    "I'm so moist I'm sticking to the leather." -Kermit the Frog on The Late Late Show
  10. criminals by iggymanz · · Score: 1

    at least 25 percent of bitcoin is used for criminal activity, what percent of this was crooks getting their money stolen by other crooks? should I care?

    1. Re:criminals by iggymanz · · Score: 1

      wrong, the big drug sellers that move millions do kill others. the drug cartels in mexico have body count in tens of thousands.

      the "victimless" part of drug trafficking is the local hippie rolling up the J, but not the people shipping in bales, they're dangerous

      bitcoin is not currency, is not money. game tokens. and quite illiquid these days too, one of many definitions of money that it doesn't adhere to.

      dollars though fiat are money.

      learn the difference

    2. Re:criminals by iggymanz · · Score: 1

      bullshit, tens of thousands of deaths due to drug cartels in mexico alone.

  11. lesson learned. by swell · · Score: 1

    Let this be a lesson, children.
    If this had been real money people coulda got hurt!
    Don't let this happen to you.

    --
    ...omphaloskepsis often...
  12. Re:Can't steal something that doesn't exist by Pinky's+Brain · · Score: 1

    You can steal a secret.