Topic: What happens when your identity is stolen -- real story || Avoid CEXs! - page 4. (Read 1019 times)
March 09, 2023, 08:58:51 PM
From Facebook to Google gates and this story as well as other stories, KYC is extremely dangerous - and useless
March 09, 2023, 06:15:51 PM
It annoys me when gambling sites and online casinos request mandatory kyc from users. As bitcoiners we can easily point centralized exchanges as the problem but also note in the story our character used his google tracker as alibi. It shows how centralized the world today really is. You do not own your data in today’s world, it’s always in the control of a third party whom you have shared that data with. The banks, big tech and government agencies own your data and can do with it as they please. I hope people can learn from this sorry and be more concerned about data ownership and data protection.
March 09, 2023, 05:53:50 PM
As much as possible I wanted to avoid using CEX but the problem lies on where I can exchange my cryptocurrency since not many of them are listed on DEX'es and/or don't have liquidity but only on centralized exchanges. Aside from that database leak is not only on CEX but also on the poor security of the government websites like the one in my country where the official site of the list of voters where breached
I bet the person's identity information stated by @OP was leaked by other sites and not by centralized exchanges. Though I agree that some exchanges such as Coinbase which is rumored to be selling data to a third-party company. This article[1] stated that Coinbase is selling geo-location information to ICE.
[1] https://www.coindesk.com/business/2022/06/29/coinbase-is-reportedly-selling-geo-location-data-to-ice/
I bet the person's identity information stated by @OP was leaked by other sites and not by centralized exchanges. Though I agree that some exchanges such as Coinbase which is rumored to be selling data to a third-party company. This article[1] stated that Coinbase is selling geo-location information to ICE.
[1] https://www.coindesk.com/business/2022/06/29/coinbase-is-reportedly-selling-geo-location-data-to-ice/
March 09, 2023, 05:24:47 PM
Using the centralized exchanges is as worse as placing your entire life private information on the internet for anyone to use against you, if dome people might have known the repercussions or risk associated in using them some would have avoided them long ago, aside the fact that centralized exchange are not secured enough because they can share ones private data provided through KYC to a third party, they can be hacked, they can also serve various vulnerabilities which includes the promotion of shitcoins on their exchange and they convinced people to invest more on alts they promoted.
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March 09, 2023, 05:06:44 PM
Generally, there are other possible means by which an individual's personal information can be stolen. There are some phishing sites that most individuals log on to that get their personal data compromised, and some uncommon mistakes could also lead to identity compromise. Similarly to the story of this Romanian, a guy in my country got caught on CCTV while he stole a paper from the trash can in the bank. The paper he stole contained the bank verification numbers of that bank's customers. I can't remember the whole story, but this guy was arrested by the police, and he confessed that he usually goes to different banks and tries to steal people's BVN, then sells it to a guy who has a site that enables them to get every piece of information about the person who has the bank verification number, and they use the information to carry out fraudulent activities.
March 09, 2023, 04:25:51 PM
Data is invaluable and is our digital representation, which can be used with malicious intent as well.
People fail to see the danger of exposing their data, maybe cause they do not see themselves as celebrities and are not public figures, so their identity is mostly unremarkable. But this does not matter to hackers at all and anyone can be a victim.
To put it into perspective, when asked to prove our identity on an exchange we present certain documents, those documents if in the hands of the wrong person can be used to represent us as well and we would panic if an important physical ID is lost and hurry to get it repaced, neither would we leave it in possession of anyone, but can freely give out the digital version.
- Jay -
People fail to see the danger of exposing their data, maybe cause they do not see themselves as celebrities and are not public figures, so their identity is mostly unremarkable. But this does not matter to hackers at all and anyone can be a victim.
To put it into perspective, when asked to prove our identity on an exchange we present certain documents, those documents if in the hands of the wrong person can be used to represent us as well and we would panic if an important physical ID is lost and hurry to get it repaced, neither would we leave it in possession of anyone, but can freely give out the digital version.
- Jay -
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March 09, 2023, 03:55:09 PM
What you will read below is the real story of a Romanian citizen which happens to live a nightmare everyday, after his identity was stolen. It didn't happen after using a centralized exchange, yet he lives the same thing as one which had his identity stolen by hackers from a centralized exchange or from any other source. This article is a cautionary tale. All those using centralized exchanges must be aware that at any time the exchange can be hacked and risk not just their funds but also face the risk that hackers steal also their personal information and use it against them. Or, even worst, hackers sell their personal information on dark web where criminals buy it with 1-5$ and they can always make a visit to those people...
A recent article from Romanian newspaper Adevărul tells the story of C.T. (36 years old), living in Germany for the last 8 years.
While his main job is to be a driver in Mannheim, C.T. also acted as a vlogger and it seems that thieves of personal information became interested about his name.
The nightmare started in 2018 when he was driving home (towards his home from Romania) and he was arrested in Hungary after he stopped for a Police casual check, being informed that he was part of a network of thieves which were stealing cars. Apparently, his name appeared in Police database with a theft of a 22.000 EUR car. Obviously, the man protested and tried to explain he is innocent. He was told to contact the Tribunal of a city where he was never before.
Months later, while being in Germany, Romanian Police contacted him for informing him that his personal information was stolen. They said they knew the guy but they needed C.T. to come to them for some declarations. The man went to Romanian Police and, excepting the paperwork, they also got his fingerprints, took photos of him, measured him and had him go through a lie-detector test.
Since then, somehow, his problem became worst. Each time he was driving to Romania he was stopped at Customs Office. Each time he felt humiliated as they were looking at him like at a criminal. Each time he had to repeat the entire story, because he appeared as international fugitive.
After a while Austrian Police informed him that the thief which stole his personal information was finally caught and convicted.
Yet in February this year he had another incident with German Police. One day, at 6am, when he was at work, a neighbor told him that Police is at his door, looking to arrest him, because he stole a 38.000 EUR boat. C.T. believed that his personal information was now used by another thief. This new criminal investigation was conducted by Augsburg Police. He went there and he observed they had a dossier with all his data, but with a photo of someone else. They asked him where he was during a certain day of 2022 and he proved them with his phone, with his Google account, by accessing his location history.
Lawyers suggested him to change his name, yet the man does not want to make this move. At the end of article he describes how afraid he is of finding out that a bank loan was made on his name or of getting arrested wherever he goes.
All of the above is an impressive story. It does not really matter how those thieves managed to obtain this individual's personal information. What matters is that such theft can always occur if you are using centralized exchanges. Hackers may steal your data. Even the exchanges may sell your data, as it was the case of Coinbase. So we're not talking about a shady exchange from a third world country, but about one of biggest exchanges worldwide. Yet this exchange was caught selling customers' data.
So are you still willing to use CEXs?
Topic is self-moderated for avoiding spam.
Translations (in chronological order):
A recent article from Romanian newspaper Adevărul tells the story of C.T. (36 years old), living in Germany for the last 8 years.
While his main job is to be a driver in Mannheim, C.T. also acted as a vlogger and it seems that thieves of personal information became interested about his name.
The nightmare started in 2018 when he was driving home (towards his home from Romania) and he was arrested in Hungary after he stopped for a Police casual check, being informed that he was part of a network of thieves which were stealing cars. Apparently, his name appeared in Police database with a theft of a 22.000 EUR car. Obviously, the man protested and tried to explain he is innocent. He was told to contact the Tribunal of a city where he was never before.
Months later, while being in Germany, Romanian Police contacted him for informing him that his personal information was stolen. They said they knew the guy but they needed C.T. to come to them for some declarations. The man went to Romanian Police and, excepting the paperwork, they also got his fingerprints, took photos of him, measured him and had him go through a lie-detector test.
Since then, somehow, his problem became worst. Each time he was driving to Romania he was stopped at Customs Office. Each time he felt humiliated as they were looking at him like at a criminal. Each time he had to repeat the entire story, because he appeared as international fugitive.
After a while Austrian Police informed him that the thief which stole his personal information was finally caught and convicted.
Yet in February this year he had another incident with German Police. One day, at 6am, when he was at work, a neighbor told him that Police is at his door, looking to arrest him, because he stole a 38.000 EUR boat. C.T. believed that his personal information was now used by another thief. This new criminal investigation was conducted by Augsburg Police. He went there and he observed they had a dossier with all his data, but with a photo of someone else. They asked him where he was during a certain day of 2022 and he proved them with his phone, with his Google account, by accessing his location history.
Lawyers suggested him to change his name, yet the man does not want to make this move. At the end of article he describes how afraid he is of finding out that a bank loan was made on his name or of getting arrested wherever he goes.
All of the above is an impressive story. It does not really matter how those thieves managed to obtain this individual's personal information. What matters is that such theft can always occur if you are using centralized exchanges. Hackers may steal your data. Even the exchanges may sell your data, as it was the case of Coinbase. So we're not talking about a shady exchange from a third world country, but about one of biggest exchanges worldwide. Yet this exchange was caught selling customers' data.
So are you still willing to use CEXs?
Topic is self-moderated for avoiding spam.
Translations (in chronological order):
- Română: Ce se întâmplă când îți este furată identitatea – caz real || Evitați CEX-urile!, translation by GazetaBitcoin
- German: Was passiert wenn die Identität gestohlen wird, wahre Geschichte | Vermeide CEX!, translation by AHOYBRAUSE
- Filipino: Ano ang mangyayari kapag ang iyong pagkakakilanlan ay ninakaw -- totoong kwento, translation by jeraldskie11
- Russian: Чтo бyдeт,кoгдa вaшa "личнocть yкpaдeнa"?, translation by FP91G
- Pidgin: Real Stori--Watin you go see wen person theft ur identity ||Comot hand from CEXs oh, translation by MeCsc
- Polish: Co stanie się, gdy Twoja tożsamość zostanie skradziona - historia prawdziwa ..., translation by cygan
- Bengali: কি ঘটে যখন আপনার ব্যক্তিগত পরিচয় চুরি হয়?, translation by DYING_S0UL
- French: Que se passe-t-il lorsque votre identité est volée ? || Évitez les CEX, translation by iwantmyhomepaidwithbtc2
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