Author

Topic: Are you prepared for the $5 wrench attack ? (1000 ETH stolen) (Read 640 times)

full member
Activity: 296
Merit: 109
I would not personally choose one for self / home defense due to the size, weight, and power of the weapon system and projectile.  Wink

A couple problems that come to my mind right away:
Cost of the gun - probably $10k+
Cost of the ammo. Expensive ammo = you won't be able to practise much.
This is a sniper rifle - useless for self defense, unless someone announces they're going to assault you and you'll set up in a window waiting for them to go through the gate. Even in such situation, a simple SMG like MP7 or Scorpion would suffice. Most people don't own properties large enough to effectively defend with a sniper rifle and small automatic weapons easily reach targets that are 100m away.


tbh, for 10k, it would probably be better to just put bars on your windows/doors, have a gate. And a security system. Or the best preventive measure, not be telling everyone what you have.

The world is so insane that you're just as likely to go to jail defending yourself while the intruder's family sues you.  Esp with a sniper riffle, if they're not close enough to be an immediate threat you're screwed.

And esp with most home invasions having multiple intruders, unless you're Rambo it's best to prevent it from happening or to not piss them off. Anyone talking about a sniper riffle for home defense is going to get themselves killed, lol.

I see so many problems with this, i also think a smg would be overkill and less effective for home defense. they're not going to be wearing armor, there's probably going to be multiple, and odds are the homeowner won't have expert aim., and not more than a few feet away. 4+ shot, shotgun is all that is needed.
legendary
Activity: 1568
Merit: 6660
bitcoincleanup.com / bitmixlist.org
If I'm wrong, and the story is true, then it's not hard to conclude how the attackers knew he had such wealth in the house - he probably bragged online and practically invited them to visit him.

And that is a problem with people nowadays, they have become stupid and have started flaunting their money online, bragging about how much they make in a year, thinking that will get them more money, but unless they used some of that money to pay for a security detail, it's actually just going to get them robbers and other sorts of assorted criminals.

People really need to stop being so careless about their personal safety and keep their mouths shut.
legendary
Activity: 3374
Merit: 2198
I stand with Ukraine.
~

When it comes to that famous hard drive, there is definitely doubt because there is no evidence that it ever existed, nor that James ever mined BTC. The question is how far a person is really willing to go when it comes to a lie, but some eventually convince themselves that something is true even though they knew it was a lie at the beginning.

However, in this particular case, it is not only about the lost BTC, but James claims that the disk also contains the real IP address of Satoshi.

To me it looks like he's trying to draw as much attention as he can to this case. (And maybe there's no case at all either.) Idk, the whole thing looks fishy to me. I think now the question is for what does need that attention, rather than what happened to him.

No posts on X from him since June 18. Is he trying to create a buzz around all this? Maybe. But for what? Only time will tell.
sr. member
Activity: 434
Merit: 253
Being your own bank has it's downsides, one of which is physical attack.

Are you prepared for such event ?



EDIT: It was not me, I just posted it.  Wink

This ugly incident is one of the reason we have to be careful about the level information we release to the public about our cryptocurrency holding. I have always known that it is safer that people do not know about our activities in cryptocurrency than making it public. The case described in this post is most possible because the victim let them know about his assets. If not of sabotage from friends and family, it is possible he has been posting about his portfolio on social media without knowing that he was being monitored. I just hope we all are able to learn from the incidence and approach our portfolio building with utmost confidentiality. 
legendary
Activity: 2478
Merit: 1360
Don't let others control your BTC -> self custody
I would not personally choose one for self / home defense due to the size, weight, and power of the weapon system and projectile.  Wink

A couple problems that come to my mind right away:
Cost of the gun - probably $10k+
Cost of the ammo. Expensive ammo = you won't be able to practise much.
This is a sniper rifle - useless for self defense, unless someone announces they're going to assault you and you'll set up in a window waiting for them to go through the gate. Even in such situation, a simple SMG like MP7 or Scorpion would suffice. Most people don't own properties large enough to effectively defend with a sniper rifle and small automatic weapons easily reach targets that are 100m away.
member
Activity: 80
Merit: 12
$5 wrench attack has a 8$ per round solution
https://www.luckygunner.com/50-cal-bmg-750-grain-a-max-match-hornady-100-rounds

Expect in pussy states where only rapist and drug dealers are allowed to smuggle guns.

Haha a bit overkill but I like it  Cool

And this ammunition is for which gun exactly?

Plenty of sexy rifles for it, but if you want to take it to house combat then eliminate threat outside  I would recommend you go with a bullpup anti materiel style like the lynx
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hseWOv2fvF4

Makes sense, you can't fit a suppressor on the 82A1 either so it's going to take out your ears too.

You can fit it on any version even before the 107a1 but the recoil would hammer you into the wall, that cast aside can't stop wondering why would you want a suppressor for  self defense situation, one live round and you have triggered all ShotSpotter in the neighborhood and any assailant would instalearn how precious life is even with a failed heist.
sr. member
Activity: 854
Merit: 364
I ❤️Bitcoin
Another good option to have against such attacks are alarm systems connected to security company.

This systems can be set to have a silent alarm activated if you enter special PIN that was set for it so good in case you're already at gun point and forced to disable it.

You can also activate the silent alarm with a remote.

So criminals won't have hours to torture you or your family.

Good also for having more time to grab your gun in case you're asleep and someone breaks into your home.

Combine this with good front doors, a good lock on them, camera system and anti-burglary window blinds and you're pretty safe.
All of this is only to give you a bit more time to grab your gun, otherwise you're at the mercy of police which usually comes too late.

If you are one of this "guns are bad" people, then sooner or later someone will rob you anyway and you'll be lucky to stay alive  Wink

Someone might not need a gun if they have enough security, however, it's always better to have one available at your house just in case you need it and the person should get trained to be able to use that gun because it's useless if you are not able to use it either out of fear or not having enough knowledge or understanding about it.

It's important to have all your doors locked at all times when you know you have the possibility of getting robbed because such things happen around the place where you live. One should know their surrounding very well, so it's not difficult to understand or realize that there are crimes happening around or not so that a person can take necessary precautions before something bad happens.
jr. member
Activity: 28
Merit: 37
Another good option to have against such attacks are alarm systems connected to security company.

This systems can be set to have a silent alarm activated if you enter special PIN that was set for it so good in case you're already at gun point and forced to disable it.

You can also activate the silent alarm with a remote.

So criminals won't have hours to torture you or your family.

Good also for having more time to grab your gun in case you're asleep and someone breaks into your home.

Combine this with good front doors, a good lock on them, camera system and anti-burglary window blinds and you're pretty safe.
All of this is only to give you a bit more time to grab your gun, otherwise you're at the mercy of police which usually comes too late.

If you are one of this "guns are bad" people, then sooner or later someone will rob you anyway and you'll be lucky to stay alive  Wink
jr. member
Activity: 28
Merit: 37
Makes sense, you can't fit a suppressor on the 82A1 either so it's going to take out your ears too.

Yep. even if you missed, the sound alone would hurt them (and you).
legendary
Activity: 1568
Merit: 6660
bitcoincleanup.com / bitmixlist.org
And this ammunition is for which gun exactly?

50 BMG ? it's for long heavy rifles like Barrett 82A1.

There's no point of having one other than fun on the range.

Makes sense, you can't fit a suppressor on the 82A1 either so it's going to take out your ears too.
jr. member
Activity: 28
Merit: 37
This bullets are so sharp and weight so much even throwing them by hand at the adversary would hurt them Grin
legendary
Activity: 944
Merit: 1026
You could split in half all three of this thieves with one bullet shot from this rifle  Cheesy

...and completely remove an entire wall from your home. 😂🤣😅
jr. member
Activity: 28
Merit: 37
You could split in half all three of this thieves with one bullet shot from this rifle  Cheesy
legendary
Activity: 944
Merit: 1026
$5 wrench attack has a 8$ per round solution
https://www.luckygunner.com/50-cal-bmg-750-grain-a-max-match-hornady-100-rounds

Expect in pussy states where only rapist and drug dealers are allowed to smuggle guns.

Haha a bit overkill but I like it  Cool

And this ammunition is for which gun exactly?

Any number of very large rifles made by several manufactures.  Grin

I would not personally choose one for self / home defense due to the size, weight, and power of the weapon system and projectile.  Wink

jr. member
Activity: 28
Merit: 37
And this ammunition is for which gun exactly?

50 BMG ? it's for long heavy rifles like Barrett 82A1.

There's no point of having one other than fun on the range.
legendary
Activity: 1568
Merit: 6660
bitcoincleanup.com / bitmixlist.org
$5 wrench attack has a 8$ per round solution
https://www.luckygunner.com/50-cal-bmg-750-grain-a-max-match-hornady-100-rounds

Expect in pussy states where only rapist and drug dealers are allowed to smuggle guns.

Haha a bit overkill but I like it  Cool

And this ammunition is for which gun exactly?
jr. member
Activity: 28
Merit: 37
When you extend your seed phrase with a passphrase, you get a new wallet that can only be opened with your seed phrase + passphrase, and just the seed phrase will open only the base wallet. If you have funds in the base wallet, you can make the criminals believe that is all the BTC you have, so they take it and go away, that is what is plausible deniability. It is certainly risky, but it is something that could work.

This is good idea, except for the situations where criminals know how much you have.

You've been talking about guns so much in this topic, what's your point. You can get a gun to protect yourself if you want, that is fine, but i thought the discussion was about non-violent ways of protecting yourself, i.e using solutions relating to the BTC network.

It's about all solutions, violent and non-violent - whatever it takes.
As for guns, well - it is the best tool against physical attack that man has invented so maybe that's why as this topic is about physical attack.
jr. member
Activity: 105
Merit: 2
This is why it's better to not post in social media anything about your crypto. I don't have any ideas how to be prepared for that kind of attack
hero member
Activity: 854
Merit: 663
Obviously I've prepared if something bad happen.

I've create two wallets, one is without passphrase and one is with passphrase, I hold most of my coins in a wallet with passphrase and small amount in my wallet without passphrase. Since most Average Joe only know seed phrase is either 12 words or 24 words, I would give my 12 words or 24 words and say if it's all I have, they will believe and they might not force me more.

Stay lowkey is the best choice here.
hero member
Activity: 994
Merit: 1089
Very strong passphrase ? it doesn't matter in this case. I don't know what you mean by "plausible deniability" but criminals will torture you (or your love ones) until you break and it can take hours or even days if they kidnap you.
When you extend your seed phrase with a passphrase, you get a new wallet that can only be opened with your seed phrase + passphrase, and just the seed phrase will open only the base wallet. If you have funds in the base wallet, you can make the criminals believe that is all the BTC you have, so they take it and go away, that is what is plausible deniability. It is certainly risky, but it is something that could work.
If you have large amounts of money, why not invest ~500-700 bucks (depending where you live) to buy a Glock ?
You've been talking about guns so much in this topic, what's your point. You can get a gun to protect yourself if you want, that is fine, but i thought the discussion was about non-violent ways of protecting yourself, i.e using solutions relating to the BTC network.
sr. member
Activity: 854
Merit: 364
I ❤️Bitcoin
Wrench attacks happen all the time.

Usually it is for money, jewelry, credit card pins your car...

I think the difference with BTC is that it is quite possible for someone to have quite a large stash on board...

Hmm, yeah things like these only happen to people who are not careful with their privacy. You can't expect to let the whole world know what you are doing, and how much money you earn and own, and then roam around free without having any security even at your house. The world we live in is a shithole, and you can't expect nothing to happen if you are doing all these things without any worries thinking no one would notice or do anything.

You can't even roam around your city having a few thousand dollars in your pocket if you know either you are famous or you have let people know you are rich and you have money. If strangers, or even people you know personally, know about your finances and financial situation, they would use any opportunity to rob the hell out of you.
legendary
Activity: 3654
Merit: 1165
www.Crypto.Games: Multiple coins, multiple games
I believe that made-up story possibility is quite high, you do not end up getting beaten or even just threat of being beaten, and then run to twitter, you run to cops. I think it's quite clear that he is making it up, to get some attention.

There are a lot of people like that in the crypto world, people who actually do believe their own story as well, like they make a mistake of their own, invest into something silly, the price goes down, and they say that FBI DID THIS type of people, and saddest thing is that they actually do believe that. All humans should remember that if there is an easy explanation of what is going on, then usually that explanation is the correct one, looking for more in depth and difficult one will not help you.
legendary
Activity: 1708
Merit: 1280
Top Crypto Casino
This is the reason why you must still keep vigilant in the internet, your information all around the web and people are active in locating you just to steal your money and seems on the image its an influencer so people really know them, people say that you can take back but again once you are in that situation its quite hard to make a reaction or do a move. Seems this topic is not too much related to this board.
newbie
Activity: 4
Merit: 0
Wrench attacks happen all the time.

Usually it is for money, jewelry, credit card pins your car...

I think the difference with BTC is that it is quite possible for someone to have quite a large stash on board...
legendary
Activity: 3234
Merit: 5637
Blackjack.fun-Free Raffle-Join&Win $50🎲
No one suspects that this is a made-up story? Some people make up stories like this because they are just psychopaths who want a little attention

Good point, to this day I don't believe in the James Howells story - he didn't prove in anyway that he had access to this Bitcoins and later he used his (now famous) twitter account to advertise Bitcoin Cash.
If he was really into tech and believed in Bitcoin, he would buy it again as it was still pretty cheap.
~snip~
It was all a stunt in my opinion.


When it comes to that famous hard drive, there is definitely doubt because there is no evidence that it ever existed, nor that James ever mined BTC. The question is how far a person is really willing to go when it comes to a lie, but some eventually convince themselves that something is true even though they knew it was a lie at the beginning.

However, in this particular case, it is not only about the lost BTC, but James claims that the disk also contains the real IP address of Satoshi.
legendary
Activity: 2534
Merit: 1338
Hmmm, it smells fishy. How could someone know you have a good amount of crypto assets? They will not rob you if you do not have a huge amount of assets, because why would they commit such a big crime if they will not benefit from it? And the suspicious thing is, how could the robbers know you have crypto currency assets? Maybe you are too open to your social media and you are flexing and showing your assets publicly and someone saw it and plan a scheme to you or someone you know that you've shared about your earnings or assets and tempted with what you have and plan to rob you there can be two possible option there, anyway if this true then that is most likely the reason why it happened to you but I hope if its true then you could get your justice, but again it will be difficult because there are no other way of knowing who owns the address.
First of all the OP just posted the event but this did not happen to them, and second is really anyone surprised this happens? Despite the fact that whatever is posted online is stored in a multitude of servers by many companies, people share everything about their lives on social media and anywhere they can, so it is trivial for criminals to target people that share the great wealth they posses, whether this wealth is on the form of fiat, gold, art or bitcoin is irrelevant, so be prepared for attacks like this to be on the rise for a long time.
jr. member
Activity: 28
Merit: 37
We do know that not all would really be that a fan on having their own Glock or guns generally on their own home due to some possible reasons whether they cant really be able to buy one or
really just that simply afraid on having one.

Yeah, well they should be afraid of not having one.
World is brutal and it's getting worse due to drug epidemic and other factors.

I suggest going to your local shooting range and at least try it, there's nothing to be scared if you are a sane person.
After that if you're not into it, be done with it.

People want to be their own banks but can't protect themself..

"not telling anyone" that you have crypto won't work in a world we strive to have where everyone has crypto.
sr. member
Activity: 686
Merit: 403
Being your own bank has it's downsides, one of which is physical attack.

Are you prepared for such event ?




They knew you have crypto and also know where you live, you messed up bro, there are many people like him in the world today and this man just happen to be in the mist of bad surroundings, there are people who will spend days talking about crypto in the public and nothing will happen to them but if you copy their moves you could be a victim like this person.

Not all surroundings will be the same, some are safer where no one cares about what you have and how you acquire your wealth but some surroundings are filled up with sharks, waiting for a proof to be assured that you have something they can forcefully take from you.

The best thing to do is avoid the public, do not discuss about crypto and your bags in the public, many people are human beings in the day and Vampires in the night.
legendary
Activity: 3122
Merit: 1140
Prevention is one thing, but we should also be prepared for the attack.
I already posted one way people could prepare themselves for a $5 wrench attack, and i think one of the best methods is to use a very strong passphrase, it can give you the chance to claim plausible deniability. However, if you prevent this attack by keeping the BTC's you have a secret, then you may never need any protection from it.

Very strong passphrase ? it doesn't matter in this case. I don't know what you mean by "plausible deniability" but criminals will torture you (or your love ones) until you break and it can take hours or even days if they kidnap you.

I agree that you may never need any protection from physical attack but you should have at least one just in case.
It's like having a fire extinguisher in your house.

If you have large amounts of money, why not invest ~500-700 bucks (depending where you live) to buy a Glock ?
We do know that not all would really be that a fan on having their own Glock or guns generally on their own home due to some possible reasons whether they cant really be able to buy one or
really just that simply afraid on having one. This is why on the moment that they will really be able to have such consideration then pretty sure they would really be skeptical. This is why rather than on having those kind of method of protection they would really be rather going into the most simple yet effective ways on which that you shouldnt really be letting yourself be known that you do have tons of coins into your wallet.
Its true that it would really be pointless or useless on having those protection or those passphrase mentioned above on the moment that you would really be getting tortured not until you would really be giving it all or on the moment that those criminals would really be that able to pass up those coins into their own wallets.So i dont see that kind of deniability on this matter.
legendary
Activity: 944
Merit: 1026
Being your own bank has it's downsides, one of which is physical attack.

Are you prepared for such event ?


I see your $5 wrench and raise you my $300 Walther PPQ M2 in 9MM EDC with two 17 round magazines. 😉
legendary
Activity: 3346
Merit: 3125
I don't think that this topic belongs to this board, it should be in the altcoins section. What happened to the victim do happen to people that cannot keep their crypto investment a secret, rather they move around bragging and telling anyone that they are talking about cryptocurrency, how much they ha win crypto.

It could happen with Bitcoin too... and it's a terrible scenario.

The fact that it happened with Machetes i would say that guy was in México or some country of Latam and it's common to hear cases like that, and the impunity is terrible there, the guy can go to the police and start a legal case but it could take months or years until the police start chasing the bad guys. The only way to solve a problem like this in latam is with corruption, paying to the police to motivate them to do their Job, it's sad but true.
jr. member
Activity: 28
Merit: 37
Prevention is one thing, but we should also be prepared for the attack.
I already posted one way people could prepare themselves for a $5 wrench attack, and i think one of the best methods is to use a very strong passphrase, it can give you the chance to claim plausible deniability. However, if you prevent this attack by keeping the BTC's you have a secret, then you may never need any protection from it.

Very strong passphrase ? it doesn't matter in this case. I don't know what you mean by "plausible deniability" but criminals will torture you (or your love ones) until you break and it can take hours or even days if they kidnap you.

I agree that you may never need any protection from physical attack but you should have at least one just in case.
It's like having a fire extinguisher in your house.

If you have large amounts of money, why not invest ~500-700 bucks (depending where you live) to buy a Glock ?
hero member
Activity: 994
Merit: 1089
Prevention is one thing, but we should also be prepared for the attack.
I already posted one way people could prepare themselves for a $5 wrench attack, and i think one of the best methods is to use a very strong passphrase, it can give you the chance to claim plausible deniability. However, if you prevent this attack by keeping the BTC's you have a secret, then you may never need any protection from it.
jr. member
Activity: 28
Merit: 37
Really sorry to read this story OP, it sucks that you had to go through this experience. Nothing we do or say can make things any better, you know yourself that your money is gone & won’t be retrieved. All I can do is recommend that people try to be as discrete as possible about their involvement in crypto & maybe even set up a decoy Trezor with 10% of their crypto on & if they’re unfortunate to be under a home evasion, give up the 10% & not their main stash which is hidden.

I just posted it, It's not me who got robbed.
legendary
Activity: 3304
Merit: 1617
#1 VIP Crypto Casino
Really sorry to read this story OP, it sucks that you had to go through this experience. Nothing we do or say can make things any better, you know yourself that your money is gone & won’t be retrieved. All I can do is recommend that people try to be as discrete as possible about their involvement in crypto & maybe even set up a decoy Trezor with 10% of their crypto on & if they’re unfortunate to be under a home evasion, give up the 10% & not their main stash which is hidden.
jr. member
Activity: 28
Merit: 37
Prevention is one thing, but we should also be prepared for the attack.

What we really should discuss here is what type of ammunition to use in your daily EDC gun.

Federal HST for the win, comes in all sizes  Wink
legendary
Activity: 3500
Merit: 6320
Crypto Swap Exchange
Old but:
https://github.com/demining/Physical-Bitcoin-Attacks

This keeps happening and we keep discussing it.

Don't let people know what you have.

As Willie Sutton said when asked why he robbed banks.
And his answer was “because that's where the money is”

If you don't know me, you would never know what I have in terms of funds.
And even if you do know me, you still won't know where it is.

-Dave

hero member
Activity: 994
Merit: 1089
Being your own bank has it's downsides, one of which is physical attack.
Even without being your own bank and using fiat currencies, you could still be physically attacked and robbed, the robbers can also force you to transfer money to them, it happens, just that in such cases it is easier to track the criminal, than when they use BTC.

However, some people who suffer $5 wrench attacks are boastful about the amount they have in BTC, bringing attention to themselves before they get eventually attacked, so you can avoid this kind of attack by simply keeping quiet. Another way is to extend your seed phrase with a passphrase, this gives you the opportunity of plausible deniability, but make sure you load the base wallet with a good amount, but way less that what you actually have, so the thieves can take it and leave.
jr. member
Activity: 28
Merit: 37
OP, look at his last post:



I think you should remove it too.

My post does not include the wallet addresses, it's pretty generic in it's content.
sr. member
Activity: 350
Merit: 255
This is not just a crypto or Bitcoin related incidence but a Pure case of arm rubbery that could happen to anyone regardless of the occupation you're into or wether you're saving your funds in Bitcoin or normal fiat with the banks.

In my region, when you're doing interstate travel between bothers of different states, armed robbers would position themselves in the middle of the road with an ATM machine while waiting for market women that are just returning from the market, they will hunt after them, use the ATM machine to run transfer from those banks and somehow, the security agencies don't end up apprehending them. The solution of these kind of incidence is first of the live a low profile life so you don't attract people to yourself and then ensure that you are following all the safety and security measures that will protect you from most of this arm rubbers.

Before attacking someone that's in this digital space, it's almost certain that those guys knows that he has some holding with him and such information can only get to the. Through an insider you've revealed it to or through yourself if you're not the type that keeps quiet.
full member
Activity: 1484
Merit: 136
★Bitvest.io★ Play Plinko or Invest!
Hmmm, it smells fishy. How could someone know you have a good amount of crypto assets? They will not rob you if you do not have a huge amount of assets, because why would they commit such a big crime if they will not benefit from it? And the suspicious thing is, how could the robbers know you have crypto currency assets? Maybe you are too open to your social media and you are flexing and showing your assets publicly and someone saw it and plan a scheme to you or someone you know that you've shared about your earnings or assets and tempted with what you have and plan to rob you there can be two possible option there, anyway if this true then that is most likely the reason why it happened to you but I hope if its true then you could get your justice, but again it will be difficult because there are no other way of knowing who owns the address.
legendary
Activity: 3374
Merit: 2198
I stand with Ukraine.
OP, look at his last post:



I think you should remove it too.
legendary
Activity: 2072
Merit: 4265
✿♥‿♥✿

And of course, diversification. Why was it necessary to store 1000 ETH in one wallet?

If the thieves were unaware of the amount of crypto the owner had, perhaps diversification would be a better option. Even if attacked, you give less to appease the attackers. However, the method of force works so successfully that people, just to stay safe, will provide the robbers with what they do not even suspect. Just imagine the worst several times and play out such a situation to understand in the future how best to behave.
But of course, keeping silent about your assets will always be the best choice, not to arouse any desires among robbers.
jr. member
Activity: 28
Merit: 37
No one suspects that this is a made-up story? Some people make up stories like this because they are just psychopaths who want a little attention

Good point, to this day I don't believe in the James Howells story - he didn't prove in anyway that he had access to this Bitcoins and later he used his (now famous) twitter account to advertise Bitcoin Cash.

If he was really into tech and believed in Bitcoin, he would buy it again as it was still pretty cheap.

It was all a stunt in my opinion.

Stories like "I lost a password to what was worth nothing now is worth tens of millions of dollars" is meant to activate our imagination and buy too.

I'm not saying it's a fake story, attacks like this happen all the time but there are a lot of stories that have hidden agenda.
hero member
Activity: 2660
Merit: 551
If the story is true then I surmise that he is rich, and attracted a lot of attention and maybe this criminals put a "casing" on him and might be into him for months before the attack. And again, this is not the first time that we heard this kind of news, saddening so we need to be very careful.

In the beginning, we thought that we are doing good deeds by spreading about the world of Bitcoin and crypto to others that we didn't even know. Probably we met in the bar or along the street. But now, it's a different world, there are hacks and what not in online, but in real life there is also this $5 wrench attack that we should be aware of and try not to be the next victim. So just be careful on who you talk too about your crypto investments.
legendary
Activity: 3234
Merit: 5637
Blackjack.fun-Free Raffle-Join&Win $50🎲
No one suspects that this is a made-up story? Some people make up stories like this because they are just psychopaths who want a little attention, some others maybe because they want to avoid paying taxes - but I wonder who, after such an event, instead of reporting everything to the police and contacting all possible CEXs in an attempt to block the funds, would go online and shared his story?

If I'm wrong, and the story is true, then it's not hard to conclude how the attackers knew he had such wealth in the house - he probably bragged online and practically invited them to visit him.
hero member
Activity: 3024
Merit: 745
Top Crypto Casino
First things first, how those robbers know that he held crypto? Maybe through social media? it's possible that those robbers knew him personally and he's too vocal and open with his crypto life. This is an important matter that each crypto investor has to remain lowkey and keep their life private no matter how proud they are of their profits. That's the start of it, when you're too vocal with the market, show everything on the web, and obviously, people will know that you're into it. And, when people knew that you're an investor of Bitcoin or any crypto, they'd think that you're rich which opens the thoughts of these evil people.
hero member
Activity: 882
Merit: 1873
Crypto Swap Exchange
Oh but I wonder where people like Franky1 are in this Thread.  This is a great moment to under line AGAIN the necessity of Privacy in this unimaginably invasive World.

Some people got robbed, hurt or killed only because they had ONE moment they did not care for and decided to fill in the real information on the wrong place at the worst time.  For example.  When the Ledger data base leaked.  Even if you had 20 Dollars you could still be a target.  Hell.  You could of only purchased a Ledger for collectible purposes and you may still be put on a list.

Why.  Why ruin your whole life over a second of carelessness!  Please, PLEASE, care for your Privacy.  The little steps you make may lead to a huge discovery for the worst actor you could meet.  You could be living your life peacefully while some body plans on attacking you.

Had no body known where this guy lives.  He would of been safe.  You see Bitcoin Addresses containing BILLIONS of Dollars and no regular person can find who they are or where the Stash is located.  Please.  Start caring, it is crucial as you can clearly see in this Thread.
legendary
Activity: 1792
Merit: 1296
Crypto Casino and Sportsbook
Being your own bank has it's downsides, one of which is physical attack.
This problem has existed at all times: any property owner (crypto) must be ready to protect his wealth.

Therefore, "Being your own bank" means to be prepared to bear responsibility for the safety and security of crypto.

I have always believed that not all users of cryptocurrencies will be ready for this and therefore, custodial services for storing crypto assets will be in demand.

Are you prepared for such event ?
Preparing for such events is equivalent to ensuring the safety of your home, that is, the impossibility of unauthorized entry of unauthorized persons into your home, video recording cameras, an alarm button to call the security service, personal protective equipment to repel robbers. The choice of specific ones is optional and individual.


It is always easier to prevent than to fix a problem. If this guy was deliberately approached to take away cryptocurrencies, it means he himself made a mistake and attracted the attention of the attackers. Therefore, the best way to avoid a “$5 wrench attack” is not to advertise your crypto assets.

And of course, diversification. Why was it necessary to store 1000 ETH in one wallet?
legendary
Activity: 1050
Merit: 1100
Being your own bank has it's downsides, one of which is physical attack.

Are you prepared for such event ?
Being your own bank doesn't really have a downside. It is, being your own bank and having a LOUD mouth that definitely has its downsides.

This victim might not have told many people that he owns cryptocurrencies. Maybe he told just a few close friends or family members. There are some situations in which you will have to tell some close relatives that you own crypto like when they ask for investment advice. People you trust can arrange this robbery because they are aware of your hodling. There are several news of spouses, siblings, close friends, etc organizing criminal attacks on individuals.

Nevertheless, it is important to keep your worth secret. There was a report of an attack on a crypto user because he flaunted his wallet balance on social media. Some of these people do these crazy things to gain followers or to convince people to heed their advice. However, they fail to grasp the security risk involved in such publicity.
hero member
Activity: 812
Merit: 619
This is a classic example of why one shouldn't share anything about their wealth and finances with anyone outside their house because you can't trust anyone these days and if you like to show off by telling everyone about how much money you have or how you can keep your wealth in cryptocurrencies, etc. Such people have their ears all around only to hear about such things so that they can find their targets.

I always tell people who are involved in cryptocurrencies that they shouldn't discuss these things with everyone outside, you might feel that it's okay to do that and you might go with the flow and let everything out, even the amount of money you have, and you never know who might be listening and what they might have in their minds.

So, it would never be a problem as long as a person can keep their finances private.
sr. member
Activity: 672
Merit: 416
stead.builders
Being your own bank has it's downsides, one of which is physical attack.

Are you prepared for such event ?

According to the story narratives, how did they know that you're into crypto, this clearly shows that its because they are quite aware of your worth and involvement in cryptocurrency that led to their plan on raging an attack, this is why privacy is very important when we are into crypto, we must not always feels like showing our worth in public because we don't know who may be watching and tracking us for an attack.

From the other side of the story, physical assault or armed robbery can happen to anyone and this is what we should all be prepared for, but in such case, they may not have an idea on what we do or have if we are not making our worth open to the public for them to use against us, we so much talked about privacy but only few are considering this and taking control measures towards it.
jr. member
Activity: 28
Merit: 37
Being your own bank doesn't really have a downside. It is, being your own bank and having a LOUD mouth that definitely has its downsides.

Let's say cryptocurrencies will be as popular and wide spread as the cancerous PayPal, thieves will just assume you have cryptocurrency so being quiet about it will not work.

Staying low-profile is the only way as mindrust has already explained.

Thanks for the list, interesting.
hero member
Activity: 1120
Merit: 887
Livecasino.io
Being your own bank has it's downsides, one of which is physical attack.

Are you prepared for such event ?
Being your own bank doesn't really have a downside. It is, being your own bank and having a LOUD mouth that definitely has its downsides.

As a holder of any crypto, your life is way easier when you are anonymous online. If you want to talk about bitcoin or crypto then use a moniker that no one can identify you by. Don't share any person information online, like pictures, house street and stuff like that. The dude is lucky to have gotten away without any injury, some others were. They were either kidnapped, maimed, and worse killed. I already have a thread on this and would add this story to the list.  It is the Physical Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Attacks that Have Been Reported Worldwide from around 2014 to 2024. Take a look at the thread and you will be amazed as to how these attacks have increased each year, at least these are the ones that are public and reported.
legendary
Activity: 3094
Merit: 1127
Even with a free 2x2 stick will really be that enough.  Tongue

This is why it would really be always best that you should really be that making yourself that lowkey specially if you are dealing up with cryptocurrency. Even if you do say that
you do live in a country which does have less crime but doesnt mean that you wont really be that susceptible on such potential risks on which this is something a possibility that could
happen on which we know that criminals do lurks in the shadows. Or even lets say that on those people whom you do know and shared up that you do possess tons of coins
or crypto will really be someday having that kind of bad intent on you.

This is one of the main reasons on why i do keep it secret and i do ignore that i do deal up with crypto because of this kind of potential risks which it would
really be putting you up on great danger. Its not really that hard on doing such thing unless if you are that tactful and boastful. lol.
legendary
Activity: 3276
Merit: 2442
I just talked in the same context in my previous forum post. Keep the low profile, don’t gather unnecessary attention on yourself. That’s the key to the survival.

 Look what happened to Roger Ver, McAffee and many others. Even if you don’t get robbed by the street scum, the state will look for anything to put you behind the bars and they will find that something unless you know the law obsessively. They’ll go after you first because they know your name. They know you are rich.

The thieves follow the exact same pattern. They know your name, they know you are driving a lambo, boom then you are a nice target. That’s the life you will be living from that moment. A nice walking corpse with a target attached to your back.

Sooner or later, you will mess it up. Unless… you planned how not to mess it up since the beginning.
jr. member
Activity: 28
Merit: 37
where you live is also a really big factor because if your city is safe, you can never worry too much about things like that anymore because you know that crime is an unlikely thing to happen in your city and I'm lucky enough that I live in a place where the crime rate isn't that much prevalent.

I'd say it's a factor but a really small one, I live in a very good place but we still have house robberies because thieves know we have expensive things.

It's called criminal tourism or something like that, they will come from different city just to rob you so if you're a target, no place is safe.
legendary
Activity: 1904
Merit: 1563
With how I talk only on things that doesn't involve cryptocurrency and not telling anyone about my investments, I can say that I'm pretty much doing fine and that I can guarantee myself being safe from a $5 wrench attack not to mention that where you live is also a really big factor because if your city is safe, you can never worry too much about things like that anymore because you know that crime is an unlikely thing to happen in your city and I'm lucky enough that I live in a place where the crime rate isn't that much prevalent. If this attack can ever be avoided, I'd say that it's for the best that you should create a decoy wallet or something like that, helps a lot to disguise how much you've got.
jr. member
Activity: 28
Merit: 37
Do you think these robbers can't force him to transfer the coins in centralized exchanges to their address? Lol.

$5 wrench attack applies to anything, regardless you hold it in non custodial wallet or centralized exchange and it's not only happen for cryptocurrency. Gold, cash, stock, cash in banks or anything that have a value.

Exactly, $5 wrench attack is nothing new.

The problem here is the transparency and possibility of correlating certain address with online identity, you need your OpSec to be very good and you could still fall for this attack because when you trade crypto, people at exchange can leak the data or it can be hacked - same with banks receiving money from crypto exchanges and people working in bank, same with paying taxes and people working in tax office.

The additional danger or rather incentive for the thieves here is the easy of washing this money if it's already in crypto.
hero member
Activity: 1148
Merit: 796
Do you think these robbers can't force him to transfer the coins in centralized exchanges to their address? Lol.

$5 wrench attack applies to anything, regardless you hold it in non custodial wallet or centralized exchange and it's not only happen for cryptocurrency. Gold, cash, stock, cash in banks or anything that have a value.

$5 wrench attack has a 8$ per round solution
IF, you live in a country where people legal to own gun or the country allow to kill criminals for self-defense (some country will put you in jail if you kill the criminals).
jr. member
Activity: 28
Merit: 37
$5 wrench attack has a 8$ per round solution
https://www.luckygunner.com/50-cal-bmg-750-grain-a-max-match-hornady-100-rounds

Expect in pussy states where only rapist and drug dealers are allowed to smuggle guns.

Haha a bit overkill but I like it  Cool
member
Activity: 80
Merit: 12
$5 wrench attack has a 8$ per round solution
https://www.luckygunner.com/50-cal-bmg-750-grain-a-max-match-hornady-100-rounds

Expect in pussy states where only rapist and drug dealers are allowed to smuggle guns.
jr. member
Activity: 28
Merit: 37
I don't think that this topic belongs to this board, it should be in the altcoins section.

$5 wrench attack applies to every crypto so this thread is in line with "Bitcoin discussions".

Also we're not looking for the source of attack, but the attack itself and the mitigations that could be applied - like another hardware wallet with smaller amount of crypto / being armed with a gun etc.
sr. member
Activity: 476
Merit: 385
Baba God Noni
I don't think that this topic belongs to this board, it should be in the altcoins section. What happened to the victim do happen to people that cannot keep their crypto investment a secret, rather they move around bragging and telling anyone that they are talking about cryptocurrency, how much they ha win crypto.

It should be someone that he has told or heard him saying it that must have attacked him and forced him to transfer his ether to their wallet. This is why we need to keep our cryptocurrency investment secret because you don't know will use that as an advantage to attack you. The first way of securing your crypto since you are your own bank is never to tell anyone that you have crypto, before the wallet security itself.

It is the same thing that will happen to anyone that keeps a food amount of fiat in his house and is bragging about it, robbers will visit you and take it from you with guns, machetes.
jr. member
Activity: 28
Merit: 37
Being your own bank has it's downsides, one of which is physical attack.

Are you prepared for such event ?



EDIT: It was not me, I just posted it.  Wink
Jump to: