The rise of crypto has given bad actors a fresh target. In Canada, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) has warned the public about the rising trend of robberies targeting high-value crypto investors. Investigators have not given specifics or the amount of crypto stolen.
According to Staff Sergeant Gene Hsieh of the Richmond RCMP Major Crime Unit:
“It appears someone is targeting these victims for cryptocurrency, and we believe this public warning is necessary for the interest of public safety”
How did the Crypto Heist happen?
Investigators have found a pattern wherein the criminals would pose as a delivery person or a person of authority. They would try to gain access to the victims’ homes and would forcibly take crypto-related information.
The police haven’t given the exact details on how the criminal could force their victim, but here are a few possible scenarios. Once inside the premises, the criminals could either threaten the victims into transferring their crypto holdings to the culprits’ wallets or the victim could also be forced to give away their private keys.
It is also not clear how the criminals knew their victims held large amounts of crypto, but it is possible the culprits stalked their victims using social media. Bad actors may have also overheard the victims discussing crypto with their friends.
How Can Crypto Investors Protect Themselves?
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police has given some advice to avoid being a victim.
- Do not let delivery persons or persons claiming to be authorities inside your home. Ask the delivery person to leave the package outside. Call the delivery company to confirm identities. If they refuse to leave, call 911.
- Keep valuables in a safe location like a safety deposit box.
- Do not discuss financial matters with strangers or on social media.
- Be cautious when investing and only deal with reputable brokers.
A Few Extra Steps Can Help
Crypto is attractive to criminals because it is portable. Instead of stealing bundles of cash or pieces of jewelry, digital assets can be transferred easily to another wallet. Though crypto is protected by an immutable ledger, criminals can easily erase their footprints using coin mixers or tumblers. This obscures the sender’s and receiver’s wallet addresses, making the transaction anonymous.
However, a few extra steps can go a long way. Like what the police said, keeping your anonymity is important. Do not let anybody know how much crypto you hold or how you store them. Storing crypto in offline hardware wallets can also prevent hacking. Keeping your recovery phrase and hardware wallets in a safe place is also recommended.
Criminals have evolved. They now recognize that crypto is valuable and could possibly be more important than any other asset. So always be vigilant, otherwise enduring the bear market would have been for nothing.
Source: RCMP
Image: Pixabay
