A US man was drugged by a woman he met on Tinder who then attempted to steal his crypto.
The man, who was a client of Casa, a company that offers heightened Bitcoin security, reported the attempted robbery to the Casa team, who performed a postmortem on the incident.
Over the weekend, a CasaHODL client survived a ‘wrench attack’ – he was drugged and persuaded to give up access to phone, accounts, and passwords. With the client’s permission, we are sharing the story to help others learn to protect themselves.
Tweet from Nick Neuman, CEO & co-founder of CasaHODL
Beware the Tinder Trap
A blog post written by Casa’s Jameson Lopp details the strange and concerning attack. According to the victim, the woman claimed to be a crypto trader on her bio, which intrigued him and helped him establish common ground with her. After chatting online, they met up at a coffee shop. He thought she looked different from her photos, but not enough to raise any red flags.
Later, they went back to his place for a drink and while he was in the bathroom it is suspected the woman laced his drink with scopolamine, also known as ‘Devil’s Breath’, or a benzodiazepine. Both drugs cause loss of inhibition and memory. He woke up the next day, noticing that his phone was missing and that attempts had been made to withdraw crypto from several of his accounts.
Thankfully, the man was not harmed in any way and the perpetrator only managed to steal a small amount of his crypto, largely thanks to Casa’s multisig technology. The scammer managed to get a small amount of bitcoin out of one of his exchange accounts. He was able to block some of the other requested purchases and withdrawals by contacting those custodians to inform them of the compromise.
The attacker managed to get a small amount of bitcoin out of one of our client’s exchange accounts. He was able to block some of the other requested purchases and withdrawals by contacting those custodians to inform them of the compromise. Since the attacker only had one of the client’s five keys to his Casa multisig, those funds could not be spent.
Jameson Lopp, Casa co-founder
A Rise in Crypto Scams
Although this incident is bizarre, it is sadly not unprecedented. As the price of Bitcoin continues to rise, so too do the scams, particularly romance scams. According to Australian government website Scam Watch, there were 277 reports of romance scams in June alone, resulting in losses of A$5,857,472. Many of these incidents do not make the news though there have been some high-profile cases; Australian schoolteacher Melanie Kilgour was involved in a romance scam in 2020 that cost her an estimated $50,000 worth of bitcoin.
Protecting Against Romance Scams
Crypto News Australia has put together an excellent guide on how to avoid Bitcoin scams, including a section on romance scams, which we strongly recommend you check out. Additionally, at the end of his postmortem, Lopp provides a list of useful strategies to help protect yourself and minimise the risk of becoming a victim of a romance scam.
Disclaimer:
The content and views expressed in the articles are those of the original authors own and are not necessarily the views of Crypto News. We do actively check all our content for accuracy to help protect our readers. This article content and links to external third-parties is included for information and entertainment purposes. It is not financial advice. Please do your own research before participating.
Credit: Source link
