DOJ seizes $15B in Bitcoin from 'pig butchering' scam based in Cambodia

Post by ratelimitsteve » Wed, Oct 15, 2025, 4:47 PM UTC

zahlman wrote: post #265

JonChesterfield wrote: post #146

The point of bitcoin was that it can't be taken off you by the state. So either this was severe user error, to the tune of why aren't the keys somewhere secure when there's a billion dollars behind them, or the nominal reason for bitcoin existing is nonsense. We thinking user error or crypto is nonsense? On the forum I expect the former.

> The point of bitcoin was that it can't be taken off you by the state. The point of a "pig butchering scam" is that victims are socially engineered into giving their assets (in this case, bitcoin) to someone else.

Post by UltraSane » Wed, Oct 15, 2025, 4:48 PM UTC

parthdesai wrote: post #232

timtom123 wrote: post #217

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Spent significant time in Vietnam & Cambodia & Thailand. Cambodia is a sad country full of desperate people. "less-policed" is the entire country. ~50 years since https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambodian_genocide . Vietnam was by far my favorite of the three and the contrast between the three countries is stark.

> Spent significant time in Vietnam & Cambodia & Thailand. Cambodia is a sad country full of desperate people. Probably should also include which country is responsible for the current condition of the country. https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/1175241-once-you-ve-been-to...

Post by bugbuddy » Wed, Oct 15, 2025, 4:53 PM UTC

laughingcurve wrote: post #278

bugbuddy wrote: post #271

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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How does calling a country full of people who are sad and desperate for a better life discriminate against them? This is the same kind of rhetoric I would hear someone use as an appeal to helping them. Hearing about these things makes me more kind and empathetic to the people involved - not less. It feels like you are trying to do a good intentioned thing here but maybe it’s misaligned to more malicious folks compare…

Post by Sohcahtoa82 » Wed, Oct 15, 2025, 4:59 PM UTC

Cthulhu_ wrote: post #147

Reason077 wrote: post #62

Wow. $15 billion is an astronomical, nearly unfathomable amount of money in Cambodia. This must have been a huge operation. It's almost 1/3 of the country's entire GDP! Well done DOJ. Hopefully the victims get their money back.

Compared to Cambodia, sure, but it's an international crime gang, with this particular one being just one branch. I wonder if this was their biggest hoard or if they had more? Really poor financial management to have all that money concentrated that much though. It either means they dropped the ball bigly, or this is spare change for them... although Bitcoin's market cap is $2.24 trillion at the moment, $15 billion i…

Post by gausswho » Wed, Oct 15, 2025, 5:03 PM UTC

bugbuddy wrote: post #268

skrebbel wrote: post #253

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> * To call a country full of any type of people is the definition of racism* This is bullshit. This kind of stuff isn’t black and white. Am I racist for calling Monaco a place full of rich people? Of course not, I’m describing the situation people are in, not their characters. Same holds here.

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