Topic: List of Major Bitcoin Heists, Thefts, Hacks, Scams, and Losses - page 11. (Read 87594 times)
The stickers look shocking, we must protect their bitcoins, thank you for your great work.
Spent a good hour reading through list and associated articles - Many thanks OP for compiling these events in bitcoin history
Along with the planned severity list upgrade, there has been some reexamination of past thefts and some associated re-evaluations based on information not available at the time.
Reanalysis is taking a while so I have only done to mid-2012 so far. The list is hence updated only until that time, which also means that the new severity list is incomplete. I will prioritize completing the reanalysis so the severity list can be completed.
- Bitcoin7 released estimates of the amount it lost in 2013, which was below the previous rough estimate made by extrapolating orderbook volume, hence adjusting this theft downward in rankings.
- Bitscalper released an estimate of the amount left outstanding, which was used for the initial list. This amount was found in re-examination to significantly understate the magnitude of the theft. A new lower bound has been prepared and may be adjusted further upwards in the future. This moves Bitscalper up in the rankings; however, it remains unranked by the current criteria.
Reanalysis is taking a while so I have only done to mid-2012 so far. The list is hence updated only until that time, which also means that the new severity list is incomplete. I will prioritize completing the reanalysis so the severity list can be completed.
very nice job OP..this kinda things drag bitcoin down..especially hacks..
very usefull indeed
we all have to know about these!
we all have to know about these!
You should also give the aproximate value in USD at the time those bitcoins were stolen. Because now they're obviously worth a lot, but back in 2011/2010, they weren't worth nearly as much as they are now...
I think he did do this no? He listed the value of it back then.
Yup, there is a section "List of events by USD equivalent of mBTC at time of theft" though with a note "NB: This section is outdated.".
That list used to be updated manually, which became too much of a burden. I have almost finished a script to do it for me, which saves a lot of time. I will get an updated list of events by USD up over this weekend.
One of the most useful posts on this forum. thanks you a lot. I'll keep them in mind
You forgot about Bitcoin to Cash:
https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/bitcoin-to-cash-hacked-344143
100 BTC @ 800 USD/BTC =~~ $80k.
I think Labcoin could also be added (another scam by Alberto Armandi), but I haven't followed it closely, so have no idea how much money is missing (7500 BTC?).
Also, ActiveMining (10k BTC?) and maybe COG could be on the list.
https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/bitcoin-to-cash-hacked-344143
100 BTC @ 800 USD/BTC =~~ $80k.
I think Labcoin could also be added (another scam by Alberto Armandi), but I haven't followed it closely, so have no idea how much money is missing (7500 BTC?).
Also, ActiveMining (10k BTC?) and maybe COG could be on the list.
You forgot about Bitcoin to Cash:
https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/bitcoin-to-cash-hacked-344143
100 BTC @ 800 USD/BTC =~~ $80k.
I think Labcoin could also be added (another scam by Alberto Armandi), but I haven't followed it closely, so have no idea how much money is missing (7500 BTC?).
Also, ActiveMining (10k BTC?) and maybe COG could be on the list.
https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/bitcoin-to-cash-hacked-344143
100 BTC @ 800 USD/BTC =~~ $80k.
I think Labcoin could also be added (another scam by Alberto Armandi), but I haven't followed it closely, so have no idea how much money is missing (7500 BTC?).
Also, ActiveMining (10k BTC?) and maybe COG could be on the list.
This and you forgot the bitdaytrade-scam (several thousand BTC), also run by alleged serial scammer Alberto Armandi (Carbonia, Italy (Sardinia); now possibly HK/China).
As a starting point:
labcoin:
http://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/1ncckq/labcoin_has_been_outed_as_a_scam_run_by_notorious/
bitdaytrade:
https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/httpsbitdaytradecom-bitcoin-gold-commodities-margin-trading-88803
https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/glbse-bdt-3-weekly-interest-bond-backed-by-bitdaytrade-93445
Thank you. I've put these on the new backlog.
Updating the lists is another priority. I should be able to finish that this weekend.
You should also give the aproximate value in USD at the time those bitcoins were stolen. Because now they're obviously worth a lot, but back in 2011/2010, they weren't worth nearly as much as they are now...
I think he did do this no? He listed the value of it back then.
Yup, there is a section "List of events by USD equivalent of mBTC at time of theft" though with a note "NB: This section is outdated.".
You should also give the aproximate value in USD at the time those bitcoins were stolen. Because now they're obviously worth a lot, but back in 2011/2010, they weren't worth nearly as much as they are now...
I think he did do this no? He listed the value of it back then.
You should also give the aproximate value in USD at the time those bitcoins were stolen. Because now they're obviously worth a lot, but back in 2011/2010, they weren't worth nearly as much as they are now...
Thanks OP for creating and maintaining this list.
People could have avoided the loss in many cases if they don't store their bitcoin on sites.
People could have avoided the loss in many cases if they don't store their bitcoin on sites.
Very Interesting read. Opened my eyes a bit!
You forgot about Bitcoin to Cash:
https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/bitcoin-to-cash-hacked-344143
100 BTC @ 800 USD/BTC =~~ $80k.
I think Labcoin could also be added (another scam by Alberto Armandi), but I haven't followed it closely, so have no idea how much money is missing (7500 BTC?).
Also, ActiveMining (10k BTC?) and maybe COG could be on the list.
https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/bitcoin-to-cash-hacked-344143
100 BTC @ 800 USD/BTC =~~ $80k.
I think Labcoin could also be added (another scam by Alberto Armandi), but I haven't followed it closely, so have no idea how much money is missing (7500 BTC?).
Also, ActiveMining (10k BTC?) and maybe COG could be on the list.
This and you forgot the bitdaytrade-scam (several thousand BTC), also run by alleged serial scammer Alberto Armandi (Carbonia, Italy (Sardinia); now possibly HK/China).
As a starting point:
labcoin:
http://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/1ncckq/labcoin_has_been_outed_as_a_scam_run_by_notorious/
bitdaytrade:
https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/httpsbitdaytradecom-bitcoin-gold-commodities-margin-trading-88803
https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/glbse-bdt-3-weekly-interest-bond-backed-by-bitdaytrade-93445
Incredible history you have compiled. Many thanks for sharing.
You forgot about Bitcoin to Cash:
https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/bitcoin-to-cash-hacked-344143
100 BTC @ 800 USD/BTC =~~ $80k.
I think Labcoin could also be added (another scam by Alberto Armandi), but I haven't followed it closely, so have no idea how much money is missing (7500 BTC?).
Also, ActiveMining (10k BTC?) and maybe COG could be on the list.
https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/bitcoin-to-cash-hacked-344143
100 BTC @ 800 USD/BTC =~~ $80k.
I think Labcoin could also be added (another scam by Alberto Armandi), but I haven't followed it closely, so have no idea how much money is missing (7500 BTC?).
Also, ActiveMining (10k BTC?) and maybe COG could be on the list.
So, an update from the last thread:
Thank you to those who kept me updated!
Things left on the backlog waiting for more research:
(By the way: Feel free to reply now; the number of posts reserved is plenty.)
- Since the last thread was full, I moved everything to this new thread. Now 8 posts are reserved and if necessary I can consume this post.
- I added the backlog of thefts that were delayed due partially to space limitations and mostly to my personal time limitations. Some are still missing because I need to research them more. They will be added in due time.
- The rankings were originally done manually, which is becoming difficult as the list grows. Hence I have begun work on an automatic ranker. This should be finished soon, but given my propensity for delaying things, it probably will not be. In the coming weeks I will also move from June 2013 BTC to a more recent standard.
Thank you to those who kept me updated!
Things left on the backlog waiting for more research:
- GBL
- Bitclockers.com
- Pony botnet
- Cryptorush
- Neo & Bee
(By the way: Feel free to reply now; the number of posts reserved is plenty.)
I am not sure a forum is the best place to display this much information, especially if you are going to update it with a ton more stuff. Although it is organized, it is cluttered in the limited format that you can post on here, IE buttons/links to other pages, or tabs for each year ETC.
For now, a forum post is good enough. The markup is written in an intermediate language though so it can be compiled to some other format if necessary in the future.
So, an update from the last thread:
Thank you to those who kept me updated!
Things left on the backlog waiting for more research:
(By the way: Feel free to reply now; the number of posts reserved is plenty.)
- Since the last thread was full, I moved everything to this new thread. Now 8 posts are reserved and if necessary I can consume this post.
- I added the backlog of thefts that were delayed due partially to space limitations and mostly to my personal time limitations. Some are still missing because I need to research them more. They will be added in due time.
- The rankings were originally done manually, which is becoming difficult as the list grows. Hence I have begun work on an automatic ranker. This should be finished soon, but given my propensity for delaying things, it probably will not be. In the coming weeks I will also move from June 2013 BTC to a more recent standard.
Thank you to those who kept me updated!
Things left on the backlog waiting for more research:
- GBL
- Bitclockers.com
- Pony botnet
- Cryptorush
- Neo & Bee
(By the way: Feel free to reply now; the number of posts reserved is plenty.)
I am not sure a forum is the best place to display this much information, especially if you are going to update it with a ton more stuff. Although it is organized, it is cluttered in the limited format that you can post on here, IE buttons/links to other pages, or tabs for each year ETC.
So, an update from the last thread:
Thank you to those who kept me updated!
Things left on the backlog waiting for more research:
(By the way: Feel free to reply now; the number of posts reserved is plenty.)
- Since the last thread was full, I moved everything to this new thread. Now 8 posts are reserved and if necessary I can consume this post.
- I added the backlog of thefts that were delayed due partially to space limitations and mostly to my personal time limitations. Some are still missing because I need to research them more. They will be added in due time.
- The rankings were originally done manually, which is becoming difficult as the list grows. Hence I have begun work on an automatic ranker. This should be finished soon, but given my propensity for delaying things, it probably will not be. In the coming weeks I will also move from June 2013 BTC to a more recent standard.
Thank you to those who kept me updated!
Things left on the backlog waiting for more research:
- GBL
- Bitclockers.com
- Pony botnet
- Cryptorush
- Neo & Bee
(By the way: Feel free to reply now; the number of posts reserved is plenty.)
Thefts not included
Some thefts in Bitcoin's history, although severe and damaging to Bitcoin users, did not involve the theft of over one thousand bitcoins. These thefts are listed below.
Minor but notable thefts
Other thefts are minor, but are unique in some manner (for example, interesting methods or a first of its kind).
Too small
The thefts below, based on all available estimates, are absolutely below the requisite margin and cannot be included on this list.
Borderline theft
The thefts below are near the requisite margin for the time that it took place, but all or practically all reasonable estimates put it below. New estimates may move these thefts to the main list.
On watch
This section is reserved for possible thefts and scams that bear mentioning. It is not an endorsement, and the presence on this list does not imply a scam.
References & Footnotes
Credits
Thanks to the following who generously wrote commentary:
Thanks to the following who suggested or clarified incidents:
Some thefts in Bitcoin's history, although severe and damaging to Bitcoin users, did not involve the theft of over one thousand bitcoins. These thefts are listed below.
- World Bitcoin Exchange, due to fraudulent activity, stole over 5000 BTC worth at the time in AUD. The total amount stolen was 25779.49 AUD. More information: https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/m.923845
- Tradehill was repeatedly hassled by Dwolla, and eventually dropped support after being scammed off 17000 USD. Later fraudulent transactions ended up costing the exchange even more, and after the March 2012 Linode Hacks they shut down, citing 100000 USD stolen or scammed through fraud.
Minor but notable thefts
Other thefts are minor, but are unique in some manner (for example, interesting methods or a first of its kind).
- First recorded physical theft of bitcoins: https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/physical-bitcoins-can-get-stolen-52206
- Coordinated hacking of BitcoinTalk accounts allowed theft of many “loaned” bitcoins: https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/scam-alert-old-accounts-coming-back-61500
- Bitcointalk.org user “Goat” lost 400 BTC through sending to a wrong address. These bitcoins were later recovered: https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/400-btc-sent-to-an-unknow-address-coins-returned-40-btc-reward-82600
Too small
The thefts below, based on all available estimates, are absolutely below the requisite margin and cannot be included on this list.
- Polish exchange http://bidextreme.pl/: 170 BTC[96]
- Mining pool http://bitclockers.com/: Exact amount indeterminate; but lack of public outrage suggests it was not very high.
- “Exchange” Bitcoin2Cash: 100 BTC[97]
Borderline theft
The thefts below are near the requisite margin for the time that it took place, but all or practically all reasonable estimates put it below. New estimates may move these thefts to the main list.
- Pony Botnet [98]
While it is conceivable that it has continued to steal digital currency, the amount given in the article is stated as an upper bound, and also includes unrelated digital currencies. Best estimates place amount stolen at 450 BTC.
On watch
This section is reserved for possible thefts and scams that bear mentioning. It is not an endorsement, and the presence on this list does not imply a scam.
- Everydice, which currently does not meet the lower bound, may reach it if the site owners disappear.[99]
References & Footnotes
- [1]: Exchange rate data is mainly from Bitstamp and inflation data mainly from the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics. More precisely, Mt. Gox price data is used up until 2013-06-09, but Bitstamp price data is used starting from 2013-06-10. US CPI data published by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics is used throughout.
- [2]: Note on the inclusion of this scam: Evidence suggests that the founder withheld information from investors, such as the fact that he was a minor. Although a portion of the losses can be attributed to incompetence, there is significant reason to believe that the founder kept a significant chunk of the invested funds to himself.
- [3]: Amount “invested” into Ubitex on GLBSE.
- [4]: Olivia Solon, “Founder reflects on the closure of Bitcoin stock exchange GLBSE”.
- [5]: Wired Magazine “The Rise and Fall of Bitcoin”.
- [6]: Ten minutes, or 600 seconds, represents Satoshi's estimated block transmission time.
- [7]: Allinvain's personal account.
- [8]: Mt. Gox official press release.
- [9]: Admission by BitcoinTalk user “toasty”.
- [10]: Daily Tech, recap of the incident.
- [11]: Signed message by MyBitcoin operator “Tom Williams”.
- [12]: Blockchain.info.
- [13]: This was the official estimate, which is likely inexact (potentially a lower bound). Since no transaction took place, there was no record on the Blockchain.
- [14]: This is a conservative estimate based on the values of SolidCoin lost, and assuming that the values of Bitcoin lost resembled those.
- [15]: Official statement by Bitcoin7 owners in a listing to sell the code behind Bitcoin7.
- [16]: Initial official statement by Bitcoin7, quoted by Stephen Gornick and retrieved on BitcoinTalk.
- [17]: 5000 BTC is almost certainly a low estimate, as the source is a listing that promotes the successes of Bitcoin7 and fails to acknowledge the severity of the theft. If Bitcoin7 disappeared, then the value should be bounded above by 15000 BTC, which is based on the size of order books at the time.
- [18]: Note on the inclusion of this scam: Bitscalper was a Ponzi scheme, paying investors with other investor money, and failed to disclose such.
- [19]: Brief textual analysis conducted specifically for this list.
- [20]: Note on the inclusion of this scam: Although initial business failures are a result of incompetence, Andrew Nollan later failed to communicate professionally with investors, and thereafter disappeared, indicating that investor losses were at least partially due to Nollan's intent or negligence.
- [21]: Shakaru's DeviantArt account.
- [22]: Google Docs document.
- [23]: Bitcoinica's official statement.
- [24]: Marek Palatinus's account.
- [25]: Gavin Andresen's account.
- [26]: Blockchain.info transaction.
- [27]: Linode official statement.
- [28]: Official post-mortem report.
- [29]: Blockchain.info address listing.
- [30]: Official account; source for destination address.
- [31]: Account of a Silk Road user.
- [32]: Official statement by BitMarket.eu.
- [33]: This was the Mt. Gox daily limit for withdrawals.
- [34]: Official estimate.
- [35]: Statement by former GLBSE operator Nefario, quoted by Bjork @BitcoinTalk.
- [36]: Statement by Matthew Neal Wright in email response.
- [37]: Alberto Armandi's story blaming Jonathon Ryan Owens.
- [38]: Texan charged in ponzi scheme (Zerohedge.com)
- [39]: Calculation based on 700467 BTC raised and 507148 BTC paid out.
- [40]: Blockchain analysis by BitcoinTalk moderator.
- [41]: Daphne P. Downes of SEC, civil action.
- [42]: SEC litigation.
- [43]: Bitfloor analysis.
- [44]: Bitfloor official announcement.
- [45]: Personal account by victim.
- [46]: 50BTC Official Statement.
- [47]: User mralbi's personal report.
- [48]: Internet Archive archive of Bit LC press release.
- [49]: IRC conversation.
- [50]: Mining cost of 748.18715667 BTC and OKPay double spend of 211.90930000 BTC.
- [51]: Analysis conducted specifically for this list.
- [52]: Leandro César, “Problema do Mercado Bitcoin”.
- [53]: Analysis conducted specifically for this list.
- [54]: Selected example of paranoia on Reddit.
- [55]: Vitalik Buterin, Bitcoin Magazine.
- [56]: Address 16cDeEFn6sraUEJrDCt2Yg3r7j2oazSYEd
- [57]: Vircurex May 2013 Report.
- [58]: Amount sent to thief addresses: 1454.00000000 BTC
Total transaction fees incurred: 0.01500000 BTC - [59]: Official statement by Vircurex in March 2014.
- [60]: “I don't have an exact date, the only time period I can give – and I've been racking my own brains – is between 20 June and 10 August. Probably mid-July.”, quoted from James Howells and reported by the Guardian.
- [61]: The Guardian.
- [62]: This was an intentional transaction, which was a legitimate withdrawal. However, although it was sent, the site database was not updated to reflect the changed balances, causing the incident.
- [63]: Just-Dice database of debits and credits.
- [64]: Coindesk article.
- [65]: Total sent to 1F1tAaz5x1HUXrCNLbtMDqcw6o5GNn4xqX, excluding dust sent ex post facto as blockchain graffiti.
- [66]: Total sent to 1FfmbHfnpaZjKFvyi1okTjJJusN455paPH, excluding dust sent ex post facto as blockchain graffiti.
- [67]: Adrian Chen, kotaku.com.
- [68]: United States' criminal complaint.
- [69]: Emily Flitter, Reuters.
- [70]: James Ball, The Guardian.
- [71]: Alex Hern, The Guardian.
- [72]: Associated Press.
- [73]: Kadhim Shubbe, “$4.1m goes missing as Chinese bitcoin trading platform GBL vanishes”.
- [74]: Statement by TradeFortress.
- [75]: Statement by TradeFortress.
- [76]: Official statement.
- [77]: Accusation by BitcoinTalk user “webr3”.
- [78]: Accusation by BitcoinTalk user “MoneypakTrader.com”.
- [79]: Bitcointalk post.
- [80]: Trust ratings for “creativex”, representing leftover assets for the company.
- [81]: Analysis by Aleš Janda, reported by CoinDesk.com.
- [82]: Blockchain. (This information was obtained directly from the Bitcoin blockchain by looking up the transaction or transactions listed in the entry.)
- [83]: Statement by BitcoinTalk user and BIPS operator “Kris”.
- [84]: Statement by BitcoinTalk user “tytus”, who is likely to be a founder of PicoStocks.
- [85]: The Guardian on December 3, 2013.
- [86]: The Guardian on December 9, 2013.
- [87]: Official signed statement from “Defcon”, operator of Silk Road 2.
- [88]: Nicholas Weaver's estimate, quoted in Forbes.
- [89]: Alex Richardson, “Silk Road 2.0 making users whole after hack”.
- [90]: Tim Hornyak, “Despite Mt. Gox fiasco, Karpeles still has Bitcoin plans”.
- [91]: Official statement from Flexcoin.
- [92]: Sent to 1QFcC5JitGwpFKqRDd9QNH3eGN56dCNgy6: 304.00000000 BTC
Sent to 1NDkevapt4SWYFEmquCDBSf7DLMTNVggdu: 592.10000000 BTC
Transaction fees incurred in sending: 0.00380000 BTC - [93]: Leak of information apropos the CryptoRush situation by “DogeyMcDoge”, support employee at CryptoRush.
- [94]: MintPal cold wallet account ledger.
- [95]: Clay Michael Gillespie, “MintPal's 3700 Stolen Bitcoin Likely in Hands of Alleged Scammer Alex Green”
- [96]: (Archived) Update posted by the exchange.
- [97]: Statement by operator.
- [98]: Pete Rizzo, “Pony Botnet Virus Steals $220,000 from 30 Types of Digital Wallets”.
- [99]: Update from Everydice developer.
Credits
Thanks to the following who generously wrote commentary:
- Jennifer Pippin (Linode Hacks)
Thanks to the following who suggested or clarified incidents:
- Stephen Gornick
- Patrick Harnett
- Chris Moore
- Paul Mumby
- Blitz @BitcoinTalk
- cypherdoc @BitcoinTalk
- freedomno1 @BitcoinTalk
- LoweryCBS @BitcoinTalk
- lunarboy @BitcoinTalk
- malevolent @BitcoinTalk
- pankkake @BitcoinTalk
- repentance @BitcoinTalk
- rudrigorc2 @BitcoinTalk
- Shermo @BitcoinTalk
- timegrinder @BitcoinTalk
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