Topic: Robbery that attacks Bitcoin Holders (Read 563 times)

being someone with a low profile really makes the mind and felt very calm, I also apply that mindset, there's no point in showing off bitcoin or other balances because humans are really wild and their greed is hard to guess. even though I have a few investments that I currently hold, I will not share them with others, especially my neighbors or friends.

Not sure what is going on? Bitcoin holders beware! There is a serious robbery that attackers are planning to do. It is directed at Bitcoin holders, who may lose their Bitcoin if they aren't careful.

With the high value of Bitcoin, extreme risks are involved with robberies. Bitcoin holders who want to keep their assets safe should change the way they manage their assets.

Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency that lets you make payments to anyone in the world instantly and anonymously, with no middle men. But if someone decides to rob you of your bitcoins, what can you do?

Bitcoin is the currency of the Internet. No one knows when or where it was created, no one controls it, and no one owns it. Bitcoins are digital and independently verified by millions of computer users who call themselves miners (which really just means that they have computers that solve math problems). Its value comes from its use as a popular medium for trading goods and services online with other people all over the world.

Whether you have bitcoin or any type of possessions, always keep them in private and never expose them in social media as social media nowadays has been the major source of crimes. I guess the blogger itself is just very confident on his bitcoin hodlings, and he has never thought that disclosing them in the public will put them into danger. Though it’s not bad to post about yourself in social media, but be cautious on what to post so that it will not trigger the silent scammers around.

This is why even if I'm proud with what I'm purchasing through my bitcoin holding profits, I don't want to put it on public because you don't know the people that will reach your posts or videos about your stuff related to bitcoin and crypto.

It's better to be safe than sorry and even I'm an enthusiasts and will always be, I choose to remain a low profile status and when someone asks me that properly, I'm knowing if the intention is genuine about learning what bitcoin is.

And from there, I'll be telling them what I know but most of the time if it's just a random guy, I'd say that I've sold most of my crypto assets just to be safe from more personal discussions and ill intentions.

I feel bad for the victim anyways if he genuinely worked for that bitcoin holding, this is so because Bitcoin has one incredible feature which is privacy, one can easily operate privately without anyone knowing how much bitcoin he of she holds unless you go about putting it to peoples face before there can know you have some bitcoin.

And reading through that news,  it seems like the robbers have well and accurate information about the op's possession of bitcoin and they made the robbery up.

This is one of the few reasons why I would back a custodian service to hold bitcoin in escrow.
Having that sort of money on your phone is insane, what happens if there's a zero day exploit on the phone? Putting a large amount like that into cold storage used to be sensible but now it's a terrifying concept of having a password worth that much in your home.

If the attack happened in the real world (offline) then I think it's more possible for the criminal to get caught and the Bitcoins can still be recovered before they transfer and spend it. Not only this news but I also heard a news before where the car get rob and the thief only stole a Bitcoin wallet while other valuable items are still there. I think what happen here is like an inside job because how will they know that their target has a Bitcoin?

It's important to not share sensitive information to your friends, relatives or even to your own family because we never know what if they have a hidden desire to our wealth and will do anything to get them.

Sometimes someone who already has a lot of assets will show off several times, showing that their wallet has lots of bitcoins or millions of assets. It would lure anyone in and nowhere would be safe once they were marked. Scammers who work online may still be able to overcome, but if scammers are already hunting offline and they target people with a lot of assets, they will become criminals who will do anything to get these assets. It looks very scary and very dangerous if the privacy of assets is published.

Nothing is 100% safe than anything we have, unless you can hire a bodyguard. So if we don't have strong security we can't be too vulgar with what we have and this problem often occurs with those who boast about their wealth and not just bitcoins, wearing flashy jewelery is also a target for criminals. And also a lot of people who suddenly turn into criminals, and not because there is any intention but because there is an opportunity.
and the good thing about owning bitcoins is that they have to be completely hidden and look normal, you don't need to be flashy because it will invite crime especially if there are a lot of them and what happens will be a lesson for other users, including me.

I agree with you that it is better that the digital assets that we hold are not known by others because if people know that we have digital assets such as bitcoin or other alcoins then people will be jealous and will think of ways to harm or extort, therefore it is better not to show it off our assets on social media or with others.

I want to feel sorry and feel unfortunate for the victim, but when I saw this one and read it, I guess he really deserves that.
I mean we have many crypto influencers already all around the world, but we aren't hearing these kind of crimes happening to them. I believe there's a reason behind this incident, and it seems like there really is.

Nowadays, whether it's cryptocurrency or fiat money in general, if you have huge amount of cash, and you posted it in public, there's a chance that you will be the next target of robbers or thieves, so the best thing that we can do is to just keep it in private as much as possible, and don't ever ever share the amount of holdings that we have.

nowadays the world of bitcoin is already very popular among the people, and they are very tempted by the current price of bitcoin, so many of them want to get bitcoin in an improper way both by hacking accounts to robberies as you explained, to avoid things that we do not want then never tell how much bitcoin assets we have because it will be harmful, because some of those who are already destitute will do negative things and do not care even though they are close friends we have known for a long time.

I'm feeling insecure these days because few of my friends know that I'm involved in cryptocurency (though they are too). Althiugh they don't know how much crypto I'm holding. And now this news lol.
It's always better if we hide our financial activities, and when it comes to crypto, we should definitely not share with anyone.
This is not the first time if I can remember. We have seen a few such cases back in the day.

I don't know whether this guy got his money in a legitimate way or by robbing others, and whether those who robbed him wanted the money for themselves or for the victims of an alleged scam. I've googled him, and there seem to be many people unhappy with his activities and that claim he is scamming others. So aside from being a rich Russian, he also had enemies, was into providing financial advice to others and was known to be aware of the crypto market because he commented on some crypto-related things earlier.
There's nothing to save one from being robbed this way, of course, but he had additional risks related to what he did and how he was earning money.

I'm read the news in the online media with local language that the victim is an investment blogger and a criminal has already been caught and revealed that the victim is a fraudulent either the victim might cheat through a type of crypto investment so it is very possible that the robber is a person who knows the victim well.
Bali is actually a safe area and with the funds owned by the victim is quite strange if he has not done KYC because when the thief wants to withdraw all the assets must first do KYC and succeed in withdrawing the cryptos here is the link with indonesia language

This could happen to anyone who are holding Bitcoin if they are bragging about it on social medias, that's why staying lowkey is a must. I couldn't see any advantages at all like those who are being featured in television or vlogs who are a multimillionaire in cryptocurrency. The world is getting more scary as the days goes by, we don't even know who to trust. So always make sure that you're not telling anyone about your big hodling of Bitcoin, it could backfire to you anytime.

Your views captivated me and I accept them. It is better to live a very low-key life. People don't need to know that you are rich because the heart of men is desperately wicked. We should also consider the claim of the attackers that the Russian dumped somebody and he is also a fraudster. It might also be that these criminals just wanted to shift attention from their crime. They should be charged and jailed if found guilty.

Bit I don't think i would stop bitcoin awareness in my locality. I introduce people to bitcoin but I don't tell them how much Bitcoin I own or inform them that I am rich. But people must know about bitcoin and bitcointalk through me. It is one of the ways that p2p can be promoted
.

Are you sure?

When you're get older and you're allocating most of your money into Bitcoin, do you really want to let your Bitcoin away without giving it to your kids? I will choose to give my Bitcoin to my kids because there's no point for me to keep accumulating Bitcoin, but I didn't use it all and just abandon it.

But, we're a different person, so we have a different purpose to hold Bitcoin when we're already old.

Indeed I also feel sorry. and the one who was robbed turned out to be a trader or indeed he was someone well known to many people. so someone must be after him and his girlfriend. because his girlfriend's crypto was also stolen in the incident, and ironically it turned out that the perpetrators of the robbery were fellow foreigners. and after an investigation was carried out by the local police via CCTV and so on, it turned out that the 3 perpetrators were fellow foreigners. and 1 other person is a local Indonesian citizen. and actually the victim was just slapped. not to be beaten. and I think not many Indonesian citizens know the victim. So most likely the perpetrator is someone who knows the victim. because the victim is indeed someone who is quite active in the internet world, especially in terms of crypto.

and it's true that this is where the danger lies in telling everyone that we are a crypto trader or something. or even if we often show off our crypto assets on social media then it's tantamount to inviting criminals to our homes.

after I read this news. it turns out that last year there was also news of crimes involving foreigners. that is, the foreigner suffered a defeat in trading crypto while in Bali. and then he stole a motorbike out of necessity. he fell into debt as a result of his crypto trading activities and suffered losses. somehow I feel sorry for this one offender.
but I also learned the lesson that we cannot completely depend on crypto trading to make ends meet. investment in crypto should only be made with cold and unused money or leftover money.
and I also just found out that there are still many similar cases involving crypto and theft in Bali committed by foreigners vacationing there.

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Reference:
- https://news.okezone.com/amp/2022/06/30/244/2620925/kalah-main-kripto-jadi-motif-bule-rusia-curi-motor-di-bali?
- https://www.cnbcindonesia.com/tech/20230301120225-37-417919/miliarder-bitcoin-rusia-dirampok-di-bali-rp-43-miliar-raib

Am really sorry for the victim, that's why it's not good to trust anybody even your parents, in my place they said your best friend is your worst enemy.
My advice to all successful Bitcoin investors is never show anyone your asset no matter what, because you don't know the mindset of the person you are showing your assets to,

Right. The moment you disclose your privacy and let the world know that you have huge assets on your own, then you are giving permission to those people who have been planning to harm you. So you should not be surprise if later on, you're now in danger. Most specially for crypto that is stored in your smart phone, a lot of people would be eyeing to get it and own them. And in the case where you are in the place where robberies are rampant, then consider yourself as a future victim since you allow them to do this to you.

It sounds like the people (criminals) who attacked him knew where and how to find him and how to steal his money. Had the villa owner not been so public about his money, as in bragging openly or flaunting his wealth, perhaps this may never have happened. I do hope that the guy gets his money back and that the criminals are served fair justice. Since there was another witness (wife) that can attest to the identity of the robbers, perhaps there will be justice, after all.

Lets see how this story plays out. Although for some reason, I feel like I have heard this story before. Perhaps it was just a similiar story to this one....

The robbers have dig into it so they have set their plan first before taking the action. Sometimes, its only us that is making our life more complicated and eventually set ourselves into danger. If the blogger has been more cautious on the outcome of his posts, this thing might never happened to him. That is why as much as possible, we should not expose our assets publicly as it could only make our lives miserable. This might serve a lesson for all social media lovers out there.

When it comes to money matters, you cannot expect to trust someone as it could only trigger robbery in the end, and eventually put your life into danger. That is why if you can keep your assets on your own, then do it and never make it a way to brag or inspire others just to attract audience. The victim could  have end his life there and lost his life, but still be thankful that he survived from it.

It’s still best to stay unrecognized and even low key to avoid such undesirable situations. Since the victim is a blogger, he must be known to everyone that he is into crypto maybe because that is also his content from his stories. Though it could attract people to get into crypto, it’s also a way of allowing them to harm you anytime and anywhere. So one should always be careful not to expose whatever assets you have as it can trigger robbery and scamming.

He may have something to his blog articles about his bitcoin involvement as he is a blogger.
I am sure, these perpetrators have read his blog, the reason why they have idea about his bitcoin holdings.
If you don't want to be a target of any fraudster, better keep your crypto involvement within yourself.
There's no need for everyone to know that you are in this market. It is easier to safeguard your privacy if no one knows you are in this market.
Remember, anywhere you go, even if it is the safest place in the world, there will always be scammers or persons with evil minds.

It was quite sad when the robbery occurred on the Indonesian island of Bali, and I, as an Indonesian citizen, also strongly condemned this incident.
The robbery may have been premeditated because the robbers knew the Russian had a lot of bitcoins. $284,000 is not a small amount and the bitcoin holder was too careless to publish that he owns a lot of bitcoins. moreover, he left his seed phrase on the smartphone. If you really want to go on vacation, you should be prepared with fiat money and you don't need to carry spare seed phrases to other places, especially places that are quite prone to robbery.
this can be an important lesson that quite a lot of bitcoin ownership will endanger the owner when people already know and will become the target of crime to seize these bitcoin assets.

I am really  sorry for that attack trust no body even the so called girlfriend can be a suspect because she know  more about the boyfriend investment in crypto currency before the attack the robbers might have Carry out information about the victims wealth in bitcoin, secondly it can be a close friend of the victim who knew more about his investment an his wealth that he might have some discussion with about his investment in bitcoin the so called friend might have fill furiously about his wealth and plan to carry out that art  against the victim the attack was a very bad one an am sorry for that attack.

Whether it is cryptocurrency or fiat, such action is dangerous. It is like welcoming the bad guys or challenging them to charge at you. We will never know who has bad intentions until such thing happen. It is better be preventive and with wealth, being secretive would be a good thing to do. But most of the users are right; never blame the victim. If someone is bad, he will do things no matter how you try to hide something from them. Such thing for sure happens on a daily basis. In my country, there was a city wherein news related to this topic made noise last year but the offenders are people with authority. It was not officially broadcasted which somehow makes it sketchy but looking at possibility, such thing may really happen.

Maybe this is the same as someone who flaunts their wealth into the world- you have this hanging sword of Damocles at your back when this happens. Like what they say, if you have such wealth, you must also have the responsibility of ensuring and protecting your safety as anyone can definitely harass you, especially what happened to this guy.


I definitely agree. Though I do not want to glorify acts of violence, I do think that he got what he deserved especially that he is known to promise guaranteed profit to users. Sounds like he is organizing a ponzi-scheme where he defrauds people into his projects.

I really feel sorry for the victim. Nobody deserves to be stolen from.
I think in present times that the world is going digitised, the bad boys are also upgrading. What I do personally to avoid this type of occurance is hiding all my financial wallets in my phone. I use Samsung and I know Redmi phones also allows you to hide some apps from the public, so people see the app you wants them to see in your phone.
Everyone should find a way to secure their assets jealously.

same as what you think. I also have the same thought about this. I prefer to keep my privacy. but for family and friends sometimes we still can't cover up that we invest in bitcoin. especially if our friends and family also do the same thing. but attending meetings with foreigners and in other countries I think it's very risky. and I don't want that.

 sometimes a crime appears not because there was an intention from the perpetrator from the start but it could be that the intention to commit a crime appears triggered by the emergence of an opportunity. so never let your guard down and we must remain vigilant. because sometimes evil can also arise from the people closest to us.

and for the case that happened to this Russian citizen, I think it could be that the perpetrator of the crime was someone who knew him. Or someone who's known him before. or it could also be that the victim has been targeted for a long time.

I just read the article you posted here. All those advices are awesome and it even suggests to learn martial arts, which is true but I guess not a lot of people are going to do that.

Now there is one point of criticism regarding the article as in my opinion it is incomplete: 

6. Become friends with Sean Kolasinac and never leave your house without him!

It is actually insane in which places and at what times of the day you have to take sufficient care of your security.

I rather think the robbery was planned, it's not written on the forehead what possessions one has talk more of a possession which isn't physical, why didn't they request that he transfers from the bank instead of requesting for his Bitcoin??

It should serve as an eye-opener on who we relate vital informations to, no one should be trusted this days

if you are here in this market with significant amount of investments, you should be discreet with what you say to your social media accounts. since he is a blogger, more than likely, he mentioned about crypto investments and from that, he's the hot target of these scammers. this is why, if you really want privacy, better keep it to yourself about your crypto dealings. you don't need approval from other people about your crypto ventures.

I guess this will become more frequent and will be a part of task list of these criminals. This is why being in this space should be at least quiet about it also using temporary numbers and address when shopping is a must.

Since the victim is a blogger this could be the reason why criminals knew his/her information and yeah, this is unfortunate regardless if the victim e is a scammer himself or not.

Those who attacked him are probably aware that he is a holder and not just a holder, but he always carries it around with him wherever he goes, which is either his fault or the fault of an informant who told those that attacked him about the huge amount of crypto, but it's very unwise of him to be holding such a huge amount of crypto in his mobile while using a 3-signature wallet, which requires multiple levels of security before a transaction can be executed. If he is really a smuggler, then the thieves believe he will never report the crime to the police since he is not also clean.

I think that doesn't need further explanation, the article says his a blogger, entrepreneur, and investor? Well, that along explains why and how these criminals found out he has been storing Bitcoin.
I guess we are all aware that robbers may forcefully stole our Bitcoins in front of us and can get rid of the transactions to be tracked. So, in the light of this event, we are all warned again not to show your crypto assets publicly.

I've heard of robberies and thieveries in the bitcoin world but I've never heard of one where the robber actively exploited the victim in person. This is just stupid for me but what appalls me the most is how lacking the authorities are in handling this situation. I do hope he gets his money back especially since tx details are given, perhaps he can even implore CEXs to freeze assets that would come from that address to ensure that they don't go elsewhere, but I doubt the victim had even thought of this. Nevertheless, I do hope the victim gets proper justice and the perpetrators get what they deserve.

This is one of the reasons why I am hesitant to attend Bitcoin conventions and Bitcoin meet up.  I don't even plan to attend a Bitcoin activity that is scheduled to happen in one of our country's tourist spots for fear of being exposed as a Bitcoin user even though I do not hold that much Bitcoin.

Sometimes people get the wrong impression that the person is rich because he holds Bitcoin and later gets targeted by bad guys.

I read some local media because I happen to be Indonesian.
It was said in some of the existing reports, the attackers 3 of them were foreign citizens (not Indonesian citizens) and 1 had been identified as an Indonesian and until now the case was still being investigated because indeed as you said 1 Indonesian citizen was wearing a police uniform even though It's not certain whether it's really the police or not because it could indeed be a disguise.
Currently, there is some evidence that has been submitted, such as CCTV footage and several transaction records.

It seems that when looking at the conditions from the victim's testimony, they were known beforehand because the perpetrators came to the villa where the victim lived and forced them to open their wallet by committing violence there.

This is why we must always be careful and not always flaunt our wealth. and especially when it comes to holding large amounts of bitcoin. I am also concerned about the victim. I only found out about this news after seeing this thread. and i feel sad because this is in my country. and it turns out that this news has indeed spread out in almost all online news article media in Indonesia. but Indonesia is very broad and many cases occur every day so news about this is not very viral in society. I also found a news article about this as follows
- https://www.cnbcindonesia.com/tech/20230301120225-37-417919/miliarder-bitcoin-rusia-dirampok-di-bali-rp-43-miliar-raib/amp
- https://www.merdeka.com/amp/peristiwa/dua-bule-rusia-dirampok-di-bali-pelaku-transfer-saldo-kripto-rp43-m-dari-hp-korban.html
- https://disway.id/amp/687718/viral-bule-asal-rusia-jadi-korban-perampokan-kripto-di-bali-total-kerugian-hingga-rp-43-miliar

And according to the confession of the victim in several news reports, it turns out that those who robbed him were also Russians, aka not Indonesians. but the place and incident are indeed in Indonesia. So I think this was planned.

The rate at which crime increases in the society is very alarming. Seeing some one on security outfit does not guarantee that you are safe with the person not to talk of you being protected by the person. Security is every one's business so it is advisable you watch after yourself, family and assets properly. I take my safety and security very important I don not disclose sensitive material or information to people any how. I try my possible best to remain anonymous no matter the condition in which I am in.

It is necessary to read that they "fucked up" @ a citizen who, assuming he is a scammer or not, is irrelevant, likewise the news itself, there are countless cases where robbery or theft occurs, it is normal.

What is not normal is that everything is stolen from you, a wallet on your cell phone must be literal coins in your pocket.

So, not is a paradigm to think that there are thieves looking for bitcoiners.  In days gone by, a businessman had his safe stolen, ah!  Yes, it had the secret phrases.
Source, Ddmr(LE) + spanish.

Whether this story is fake or not, it has been mentioned before that unnecessary bragging may pose such risks and render you a susceptible target. Of course, this doesn't only apply to cryptocurrencies but to money in general. There's no need to pose your money and success on social media; you're never exactly sure who might be watching you and how robbers are using them to track down people with wealth.

On the other hand, I don't understand how they accessed his wallet; what kind of support did they contact? Why was he using an online, centralized wallet?

It seems that the Russian guy is a scammer (see the link posted a bit earlier in this thread: https://tor-corporation.com/en/urii-boicov-razvod-na-dengi-razoblachenie-moshennika/) most probably he was selling fake crypto tips/signals and the two caucasian guys mentioned in the article were angry Russians who got scammed by him and decided to take revenge

P.S. Another possible reason he got robbed is like many have mentioned here that he was possibly bragging about his Bitcoin stash.

Flaunting about what you own is one thing while living with it peacefully is another best thing. I am pretty sure they studied him very well before going so crazy around him. They knew where he is staying, with whom he is, and what are the security aspects around the Villa. It’s not like he is way to much popular to be knows by everybody but the fact that he already caught up in the mess.

Anyways, I think it is more important to understand that he was safe and sound after the incidence happened including his gf. The scenario could have been different crime scene but instead they just lost money and nothing else. Hope so he has learnt his lesson and will live to fullest.

It it has been said here and many other places many times. You would not talk about having lots of gold stored at your house. Or how you are carrying around a large expensive gemstone in your pocket or how you have 1000s and 1000s of dollars in your jacket pocket. But people seem to let everyone know about their crypto holdings. And then don't store them securely.

I feel sorry for the victim, but as a group we really have to keep letting others know not to let people know what their holdings are and where / how they are stored.

-Dave

it's really bad luck if the victim can't recover the losses he's experienced, his intention to go on vacation actually ends in a loss.

here are the details for my 'personal text' = My Cold Keys Just Got Swiped! All Halving Sets!!   

I was just wondering, in your signature you quote ' help the victim scammed by Cold Key '
Can you give details about this?

Also, as per the news story... I think the Russian should have had a wallet with a passphrase... the passphrase would lead to a secondary wallet that would have only a small amount

This is the reason why you should not be telling anyone that you hold bitcoin or crypto, mostly if you post the value of your wallet, it is really scary now. Before, when I was just starting out in crypto, I always posted in social media about my earnings in bitcoin, showing its value, but because of the news that happens about this, I refrain from doing so. It is very scary right now, as for sure the criminals know that he holds that huge amount, and they have already planned it out. So we should be silent on everything that involves money as someone is watching us.

Yeah I know there's still a chance a real policeman can become a criminal, but it wouldn't last long if you have a proof if he rob your money because he have giving a lot personal information to the police station when he was applying to become a police.

Every police have their own identity number which can be verified using an application, if he refused to do that, it's obviously a criminal. The thing is a tourist wouldn't really understand about it and he might just trust whatever the local citizen is saying e.g. the fake policeman show a fake ID.

AFAIK there's no law in Indonesia they will recover the losses from a fake policeman or any other crime, especially this is about Bitcoin, not in bank account.

I don't really think that this robbers came upon random people, but someone (who recognized him) had stalked him the previous day and then made some plans. Even though he is an influencer in his own country, the robbery took place overseas in such a way that it is likely that the local robber would not know about his background and would even notice that he was "carrying" large amounts of bitcoins.

Use common sense and know your rights. If they knock on your door telling you that they have info your money might be counterfeit and that you have to give them everything that you have asap, you can be pretty sure its bullshit as these things don't work that way. At least not in my country.


You don't need real uniforms, police cars and guns to pretend that you are police. Fake badge is usually enough and that's why these scammers usually target older people who are more gullible, easy to confuse and won't resist or make fuss.

This is the reason why you should avoid talking about your wealth in public places or even to the people around you no matter how close they may seem to be to you never disclose to them exactly how much you own, because that might pose so many risk to your wealth and your life as well. And besides how on earth will someone be walking around with that much Bitcoin in his mobile phone and again he's a blogger I bet he creates blog post about how to safeguard your coin but yet he couldn't even apply that same principle that he writes about to me that's his fault. Even with the incident I doubt if he's still going to keep how wealth private because most bloggers tend to showoff with their wealth, I didn't really know the resin behind it though.

Yes, and this kind of attacks has been increasing, as others said, this is what we call $5 wrench attack


https://cointelegraph.com/news/5-wrench-attacks-appear-to-be-on-the-rise-in-the-crypto-community

So the best weapon against this kind of attack and just simply don't tell anyone that you have bitcoin or crypto. Because you don't know who you dealing with her, maybe they are just listening and when the time comes they will simply attack you at the comfort of your home and forcefully cough your private keys or extract any crypto information from you.

Okay, how do I know that person is a policeman or not? If you don't follow their orders, they'll punish you and if you follow, there is a chance that they are actually criminals.
In that case, government should pay for every damage that victim has faced by fake policeman because if the government has the problem where some people can get police uniform, guns, police car and move in the streets, definitely this country is not doing well.

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By the way, big control comes with big responsibilities. When you have a lot of money in forms of crypto and promote yourself while having zero skills in fight and zero guards and move on an island that has high crime rate, sorry but we shouldn't blame the nature of bitcoin here. I say this to those people who (will) blame bitcoin in this case.

This is not just about bitcoin though, letting the world know you have "money" puts you in danger. Specially if you are carrying it around with you.

You mentioned he was a tourist, if you check the stats of robberies where they take the tourists money in different countries you'll realize this is not a new thing. There are even some cities in Europe (eg. Barcelona, Spain) where the average is a dozen robberies per hour (that's 2018 stats, it is much higher in 2023 due to worse economy situation). As you see these stats are not bitcoin related.

Holding $284,000 in one's smartphone is an incredible decision and one of the reasons he was a victim of the attack.

The best way to prevent a $5 wrench attack is for all your bitcoin activities to be private. If that is not possible, in the case of an investment blogger, then never carry huge amounts around. You can have a decoy wallet which reveals a believable amount of bitcoin and then one with additional security or an added passphrase which holds majority of your funds.

If that was the case here, the attackers would have discovered about $20,000 or $10,000 in his wallet and felt that sufficient to get away with, while over 95% of the Bitcoins are still secure.

- Jay -

People frequently get too cocky with their investment sometimes — by unnecessarily flaunting their holdings to other people; or sometimes, even just by simply wearing a bitcoin/crypto-related t-shirt. Personally, I'd rather prefer that no one knows that I'm into crypto at all; just to be extra sure.

https://cryptosec.info/wrench-attack/

Just because someone wears a police uniform doesn't mean that he is policeman, and just because someone is policeman doesn't mean that he won't rob you. Just the other day a big group of scammers was arrested in Croatia that pretended to be police in order to trick elderly that were their main targets.

It looks like a fake robbery claiming if they were a policeman.

Since the victim is a crypto blogger which is publicity if he is interested with crypto, it's not surprising if he get robbed. He make money by selling his privacy, so he must accept the risk what have he done.

It's not only limited by told other people of Bitcoin you hold, but other thing like: teaching someone about Bitcoin, wear a shirt or anything related with Bitcoin, submitting your KYC to online site, and installing many applications which can spy anything in your device.

It wasn't a rocket science really as this guy is crypto "entrepeneur" so it was safe to assume that has some crypto. Just another proof how dangerous is to let everyone know that you are into crypto and I am susprised that we are not seeing more $5 dollar wrench attack cases like this.

Then again, he might got what he deserves as he seems like a scammer that got robbed. Karma is a bitch.

[1] https://www.weeklyblitz.net/news/in-bali-284000-worth-of-bitcoins-were-stolen-from-a-russian-bloggerin-bali-284000-worth-of-bitcoins-were-stolen-from-a-russian-blogger-news/

i'm sorry for the victim, who seems to be still unable to get his bitcoins, news of robberies like this have caused a stir several times because the thief did not want cash or other valuables from the victim but only targeted the victim's bitcoin. 

there is no detailed explanation of how the thief could find out that the tourist has bitcoins, however, bitcoin ownership cannot tell it to other people because it is very sensitive and can provoke crime.

if you have already told other people the number of your bitcoins, you should make other reasons when people ask you about it again, crime can come from anyone and anywhere, so being suspicious is quite important.