Police Lose Crypto Millions
Cybersecurity is no joke. You should use long and complex passwords, ensure your devices are free of malware and viruses, and monitor your ID and payment methods for unauthorized use. And you certainly should not post your online wallet’s password publicly — like the South Korean Tax police just did. Recently, the country’s tax authorities cracked down on more than 100 people evading taxes through digital assets. The operation was very successful, and the authorities confiscated more than $5 million in cryptocurrency. Such an achievement is worth celebrating. So, the tax authority posted a public press release with pictures of the device used to store the digital cash. Unfortunately, the cops overlooked a small detail. The high-resolution images clearly showed the key codes necessary to access the crypto wallet.
The series of unfortunate events begins with a recent anti-tax evasion operation launched by South Korea’s National Tax Service (NTS). The crackdown targeted a reported 124 high-value tax evaders, who had been skirting their dues through various online assets. Most commonly, they had channeled their income into various cryptocurrencies. It’s that electronic money that the NTS went after around $5.5 million. To highlight the results of the crackdown (and probably to send a message that tax evaders will be caught), the NTS published a press release celebrating the achievement. That press release included high-resolution photographs of the Ledger devices holding the confiscated money.
You might imagine the NHS would be able to easily find out who took the money and get it back. However, that might prove next to impossible. First, there’s no suspect. Or, more precisely, there are too many suspects. Anyone who saw the pictures could’ve potentially used the included codes, so there’s no way to start narrowing the field down. They simply have no paper trail whatsoever. The NHS has pulled the hazardous press release from their website, not that it does any good at this point. So, if you’re a crypto investor, let this be a cautionary tale for you. Don’t digitize your wallet’s master key. Write it on a piece of paper, keep that paper under lock and key, and — above all — don’t post a picture of it online.
Ooops on the bit chain
If I had invested $1000 into Bitcoin today…
I would still have No idea how it worked.
If Bitcoin eventually goes under…
Will it go to the Crypt O’ Currency?
There’s this new cryptocurrency called Decibel. You just yell in your microphone to get money.
It’s a sound investment.
How can you tell who owns Bitcoin at a party?
Don’t worry, they’ll tell you.
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