About $1.2 Billion in Cryptocurrency Stolen Since 2017 (reuters.com) 53
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.
Out of the total market? (Score:2)
$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.
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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...
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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 [wikipedia.org] 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 large
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The adjective is usurious, you boong.
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$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.
"Stolen" (Score:3)
I think we know what really happened. [youtube.com] #UsedToBeABitcoinBillionaire ;)
Does anyone happen to know (Score:2)
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 oper
Re:Does anyone happen to know (Score:4, Informative)
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Isn't the bigger news (Score:4, Informative)
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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...
So what? (Score:2)
There, fixed that for you.
WoW (Score:2)
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Shocked! (Score:2)
I'm shocked at how low it is.
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You can steal a secret.
Does this number include.... (Score:2)
... cryptocurrency intentionally paid to the operators of ransomware? And yeah, I didn't RTFA.
criminals (Score:2)
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?
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bullshit, tens of thousands of deaths due to drug cartels in mexico alone.
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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
lesson learned. (Score:2)
Let this be a lesson, children.
If this had been real money people coulda got hurt!
Don't let this happen to you.