/physical-bitcoin-attacks

A list of known attacks against Bitcoin / crypto asset owning entities that occurred in meatspace.

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Known Physical Bitcoin Attacks

A list of known attacks against Bitcoin / crypto asset owning entities that occurred in meatspace. NOTE: this list is not comprehensive; many attacks are not publicly reported.

Readers may be interested in this relevant presentation: "The Hodlguard- a primer on physical security in Bitcoin" and slides.

Date Victim Location Description
December 29, 2014 Hal Finney Santa Barbara , California Bitcoin developer SWATted after months of harrassment & extortion
January 3, 2015 Amanda McCollum Atlanta, Georgia BTM thieves strike smoke shop, fire gun
January 22, 2015 Martin Wismeijer Amsterdam, Netherlands Thieves steal 2 bitcoin ATMs
February, 2015 Dean Katz New York, New York Bitcoin trader robbed of $12,000 at gunpoint
May 27, 2015 Dwayne Richards New York, New York Firefighter kidnapped, robbed of $1,100, & stabbed by crypto thieves
November 16, 2015 Robert Nederhoed Delft, Netherlands Thieves steal bitcoin ATM containing 2,000 EUR
July 11, 2016 Tadas Kasputis Kaunas, Lithuania Cryptocurrency executive kidnapped at car wash
July 25, 2016 Steve Manos West Palm Beach, Florida Bitcoin trader robbed of $28,000 at gunpoint
August 14, 2016 Multiple Toronto, Ontario Police arrest teens in string of bitcoin-related robberies
November 6, 2016 Tivoli Brasserie Oudenbosch, Netherlands Dutch Bitcoin ATM Owner Laughs at Thieves Who Took His Machine
February 16, 2017 Josoj London, England Description of robbery during Localbitcoins trade with Bitcoins Uncensored interview and the robber's side of the story.
February 26, 2017 Rocelo Lopes' wife Florianopolis, Brazil Wife of crypto exchange owner kidnapped and ransomed
March 14, 2017 3 Indian Bitcoin traders Dubai, United Arab Emirates 3 Emiratis pose as cops, kidnap victims and rob them of 25 BTC
June 17, 2017 Miyuki Noda Gifu, Japan Woman strangled, attacker takes 100,000 yen worth of BTC
September 4, 2017 Alexey Sherstne Kiev, Ukraine Man tortured for $50k in Bitcoins
October 16, 2017 Jameson Lopp Durham, North Carolina Bitcoin developer SWATted & extorted
October, 2017 Multiple Toulouse, France 4 bitcoin traders robbed at gunpoint
October, 2017 Multiple Los Angeles, California "Discount Bitcoin Bandits" committed 5 robberies at gunpoint
November 4, 2017 Unidentified New York, New York Man robbed of $1.8M of ETH
November 15, 2017 Unidentified Istanbul, Turkey Gang stole $2.83M in BTC from businessman
December, 2017 Unidentified Reykjavik, Iceland 600 Bitcoin ASICs stolen Follow-up Story
December 26, 2017 Pavel Lerner Kiev, Ukraine Bitcoin exchange owner kidnapped & ransomed
January 3, 2018 "Dallas" Milwaukee, Wisconsin Convicted felon accused of firing gun inside downtown Milwaukee condo during Bitcoin sale
January 14, 2018 Pavel Nyashin Leningrad Oblast, Russia Blogger Who Boasted About Crypto Wealth Beaten and Robbed For $425k
January 15, 2018 Maxsim Latsoka & Anna Nikurina Phuket, Thailand Russian gang steals 100,000 Euros in BTC from young Russian couple
January 18, 2018 ____ Lee North Point, Hong Kong Bitcoin trader lured to bogus meeting and robbed of HK$1.4M
January 23, 2018 Canadian Bitcoins Ottawa, Canada Failed armed robbery attempt of Canadian bitcoin exchange
January 27, 2018 Danny Aston & Amy Jay Moulsford, Oxfordshire, England Armed home invasion of Bitcoin trading firm owner
January 29, 2018 Unidentified Cumming, Georgia Five men arrested for planning armed home invasion of bitcoin owner
January 2018 Unidentified Odessa, Ukraine Several men pose as bitcoin sellers, beat and rob buyer of 1.5 Million UAH ($57,000 USD
February 9, 2018 Sailesh Bhatt Amreli, India Police Officers Beat, Extorted 200 BTC from Businessman
February 21, 2018 ____ Tai Taichung, Taiwan Four men assault bitcoin seller & transfer 18 BTC
February 23, 2018 Yury Mayorov Moscow, Russia Crypto Developer Beaten, Robbed Of 300 BTC
February 23, 2018 Unidentified Moscow, Russia Crypto investor has face mutilated, robbed of $1M in BTC
March 2018 Undisclosed woman Killingly, Connecticut 2 women invaded home of another woman who had opened a "Bitcoin account" in the name of one of the attackers and used it to steal her money.
March 2018 Unidentified Miner Kiev, Ukraine Miner kidnapped, extorted for $50,000. Kidnappers caught 8 months later.
March 22, 2018 Multiple gas stations Irving & Mesquite, Texas Robbers douse clerks with pepper spray, steal from Bitcoin ATMs in Irving and Mesquite
April 8, 2018 Pang Joon Hau Singapore Man seeking to buy BTC robbed of $365,000
April 11, 2018 Ryan Rice Miami, Florida Bitcoin buyer shoots robber in self defense
April 25, 2018 2 unidentified Asian brothers Dubai, United Arab Emirates Gang of 10 robbed two brothers of AED 7m ($1.9m) in cash who were looking to buy Bitcoin
June 6, 2018 Unidentified 22-year-old Milan, Italy Robbers attempt bitcoin purchase with counterfeit money, beat victims and fire gun, take 50,000 euros
June 13, 2018 "Synth" China Home invasion of Skycoin architect resulted in theft of 18.88 BTC and 6,466 SKY
June 19, 2018 Unidentified Wels, Austria $250,000 in cryptocurrency taken by robbers posing as postmen
July 6, 2018 Austin Nedved Northborough, Massachussetts Armed home invasion of Localbitcoins trader
September 7, 2018 Nicholas Truglia New York, New York Friends accused of torturing pal to steal his cryptocurrency
October 15, 2018 Heikki Bjørklund Paltto Oslo, Norway 24 year old man murdered in home after exchanging large sum of BTC
November 16, 2018 Andrew ______ Lanseria, South Africa Bitcoin trader drugged, beaten, and tortured before transferring BTC to attackers
February 10, 2019 Tjeerd H. Drouwenerveen, Netherlands Bitcoin trader tortured with drill
March 12, 2019 Costcutters Far Cotton, Northampton, England Bitcoin machine stolen during robbery
May 14, 2019 Undisclosed Oslo, Norway Bitcoin millionaire escapes armed home invader by jumping off balcony
June 30, 2019 Luftan Shaikh, Mohammad Shazad, Malang Shah Jaipur, Rajasthan, India Criminal Gang Abducts & Tortures Cryptocurrency Traders, Demands 80 BTC Ransom
July 15, 2019 Bitcoin Exchange Sparkhill, Birhingham, England Masked raiders hold up Bitcoin Exchange in front of dozens of witnesses
July 26, 2019 Unidentified Wels, Austria Man raided in office (en)
August 26, 2019 Abdul Shakoor Dehradun, India Kingpin of Kerala bitcoin scam murdered in Dehradun
November 19, 2019 Simply Delicious Food Market Vernon, British Columbia Thieves break into BTM
January ?, 2020 Iroro Wisdom Ovie Abraka, Nigeria Man shot & killed by home invaders seeking $10,000 in bitcoin
January 8, 2020 Mark Cheng Jin Quan Bangkok, Thailand Blockchain advisor kidnapped, held at gunpoint, extorted for $60,000 in bitcoin
January 21, 2020 Mayfair Quick Mart Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 2 men break into BTM, steal cash box
May 19, 2020 Exxon Gas Station East Lansdowne, Pennsylvania 2 subjects pry open BTM in broad daylight
October 7, 2020 Mike's Produce Kelowna, BC, Canada Botched Bitcoin theft destroys deli
October 22, 2020 Undisclosed Riga, Latvia Man arrested for planning kidnapping and killing owners of cryptocurrencies