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Coinbase says hackers bribed staff to steal customer data, demanding $20M ransom

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Re: Coinbase says hackers bribed staff to steal customer data, demanding $20M ransom

#471
post #413

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes that's true but it's weird they only focus on crypto investors' families? There are many rich people in France, what's the deal with cryptobros?

You can easily establish the connection from a bank account to a person. A connection from a crypto wallet to a person is extremely difficult. Money laundering with crypto is also much easier (and cheaper usually).

It’s harder but not totally impossible with the traditional banking system. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangladesh_Bank_robbery

Re: Coinbase says hackers bribed staff to steal customer data, demanding $20M ransom

#472

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This may be surprising, but I actually don't think opting for a payment method with less consumer protections (that I pay cap gains tax on when if I dispose of it for a profit) is me ceding my right to be protected by the police. You're right that it does seem extremely callous and is honestly a disturbing mindset to have. Hopefully you never experience terror like the victims of the last few months in France experie…

> You're right that it does seem extremely callous and is honestly a disturbing mindset to have. Hopefully you never experience terror like the victims of the last few months in France experienced in your life. Thanks for the tone-policing. But instead of implicitly suggesting that my mindset or tone is inappropriate, it would be great if we discussed the substance of the points.

> it would be great if we discussed the substance of the points.

Sure, just read the sentence from my response that you skipped over.

To be clear: I didn't implicitly suggest that your mindset of people who use crypto somehow ceding their right to protection from the state was inappropriate, I stated outright that it was a disturbing and callous mindset.

It's like suggesting that people who protest against police brutality shouldn't get protection from the police in emergency situations, or believe people who are racist to healthcare workers should lose all right to healthcare. The type of mindset held by those who care more about retribution against those who hold different views than a just society.

Re: Coinbase says hackers bribed staff to steal customer data, demanding $20M ransom

#473
post #262

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Coinbase is identical to a bank because it holds customer funds. Your comment isn't quite the dunk you think it is. Blockchains allow money to be held anonymously without any banks involved. Centralized exchanges are just profiting on speculation and probably should be banned.

My money in the bank in case of fraud is protected unless I voluntarily gave the fraudster my money. If a bank goes bankrupt, my money is protected by the government

First one might be kind true in the US. Second one is only true up to $250k and how much Yellen likes you. But they are not true around the world and probably for most of it.

Re: Coinbase says hackers bribed staff to steal customer data, demanding $20M ransom

#475
post #358

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Go Zelle someone and try to get the money back.

When I was "hacked" two years ago, their final hurrah before I finally got everything offline for a time, they sent zelles as much as they could and was able to recover it without any loss on my end.

I guess things have changed since it has not always been the case that the bank would reimburse you.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/06/business/payments-fraud-z...

Re: Coinbase says hackers bribed staff to steal customer data, demanding $20M ransom

#476
post #465

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you're kidnapping a generic very rich person, how are you expecting them to pay the ransom, a big burlap sack of cash? There's a lot that can go wrong there. A bank transfer or other conventional financial instrument? Few criminals would be comfortable with that approach. (John Grisham novels, and 'Archer's beloved bearer bonds, aside, it's virtually impossible to make this untraceable). Magic internet money is pr…

They can use their bank account to buy crypto and then pay the ransom. Kidnapping is a thing in latin america before crypto became cool.

“Hey, cryptocurrency exchange, I, a random rich person, would like to, having never interacted with you before, buy a million dollars of bitcoin and transfer it out. Today, please.”

That is simply not going to happen.

Re: Coinbase says hackers bribed staff to steal customer data, demanding $20M ransom

#477
post #465

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you're kidnapping a generic very rich person, how are you expecting them to pay the ransom, a big burlap sack of cash? There's a lot that can go wrong there. A bank transfer or other conventional financial instrument? Few criminals would be comfortable with that approach. (John Grisham novels, and 'Archer's beloved bearer bonds, aside, it's virtually impossible to make this untraceable). Magic internet money is pr…

They can use their bank account to buy crypto and then pay the ransom. Kidnapping is a thing in latin america before crypto became cool.

Companies do exactly this frequently to get their hacked servers and data decrypted.

Re: Coinbase says hackers bribed staff to steal customer data, demanding $20M ransom

#478

I have been receiving regular spear phishing calls from these guys, or someone who bought the leaked data, with classic tactics like claiming that I need to confirm a potentially fraudulent transaction. They speak perfect English with an American accent, sound very friendly, and have knowledge of your account balance. Thankfully on the first call I realized it was a scam right away, and Google's call screening featur…

If you had any significant assets on Coinbase at any time prior to this breach, spear phishing is the least of your worries. Coinbase not only leaked your full name and address, they also gave up your balances, your transaction history, and images of your government identification. People with "significant" crypto balances are being assaulted on the street and in their own homes, and family members are being kidnappe…

How can I check if I am affected by this?

Re: Coinbase says hackers bribed staff to steal customer data, demanding $20M ransom

#479

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The parent post was someone literally hosting a crpyto conference, and this one was someone who runs a crypto company. A sibling story describes the father of a 'cryptocurrency influencer.' Is there any evidence of real crime happening which was targeted at Coinbase leak data, or is this just vibes

Well you start with the low-hanging fruit. Also I imagine these things take a while to plan.

The point is, it didn't need a coinbase data breach to identify these victims - they're high profile, public users of crypto.

Re: Coinbase says hackers bribed staff to steal customer data, demanding $20M ransom

#480
post #465

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you're kidnapping a generic very rich person, how are you expecting them to pay the ransom, a big burlap sack of cash? There's a lot that can go wrong there. A bank transfer or other conventional financial instrument? Few criminals would be comfortable with that approach. (John Grisham novels, and 'Archer's beloved bearer bonds, aside, it's virtually impossible to make this untraceable). Magic internet money is pr…

They can use their bank account to buy crypto and then pay the ransom. Kidnapping is a thing in latin america before crypto became cool.

> They can use their bank account to buy crypto and then pay the ransom.

This is actually more difficult than it sounds. Most banks and crypto exchanges won't allow a person to make meaningfully large crypto transactions without some account history.

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