British thieves claim that crypto theft is on the rise in London as users target phones to access digital assets.
British police have warned investors of thieves targeting digital currency investors. Police are reporting that thousands of euros in digital assets of victims were also stolen after the thieves stole their phones.
The Guardian analyzed a series of anonymized crime reports provided by London police, revealing that criminals are targeting mobile phones to gain access to digital assets.
A victim reported that robbers forcibly took her phone by stopping her Uber near London’s Liverpool Street station. The robbers returned the phone after stealing more than 5,000 euros in Ethereum from the victim’s Coinbase account.
Another case is about a victim being held against a wall by attackers, forcing him to unlock his smartphone with face verification. The robbers transferred 6,000 euros of XRP from the victim’s account.
David Gerard, author of Attack on the 50 Foot Blockchain, warned that crypto users should consider carrying their digital assets the same as carrying cash and avoid holding cryptocurrencies in their accounts. Gerard told The Guardian:
“If I get robbed and they force my money into a wire transfer, the bank can track where the money goes and there can be all sorts of returns. You can reverse the process. Regarding crypto, if I transfer my crypto money to my wallet, I keep my money and they cannot get it back.”
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