Kako se kripto kriminalci preusmerjajo od vdorov v borze k ciljanju na posameznike

/Tehnologija/ Avtor

Kraja kriptovalut ima v sebi posebno vrsto krutosti. Tudi ko vaših kovancev ni več, jih pogosto še vedno lahkoglejkako se premikajo – skok za skokom – po javni verigi blokov. To je kot gledati, kako vašo denarnico odnašajo skozi stekleni hodnik, v katerega ne smete vstopiti.

Preiskava BBC o kripto kriminalu s trdimi številkami in človeškimi zgodbami opredeljuje trend, ki se tiho spreminja: medtem ko ogromni vdori v borzo še vedno prevladujejo na naslovnicah, se vse več kriminalcev osredotoča na posamezne vlagatelje – z uporabo staromodnih prevar, uhajanja podatkov in v najslabših primerih fizičnega nasilja.

Zakaj se kraja kriptovalut razlikuje od običajne goljufije

V tradicionalnih financah je najpogostejši »srečen konec« dolgočasen: banka razveljavi nakazilo, podjetje s kartico prekliče bremenitev ali pa vas zavarovalnica ozdravi. Kriptovalute po zasnovi ne delujejo tako.

Zgodba BBC se začne s »Helen«, prebivalko Združenega kraljestva, ki pravi, da se je izgubila naokoli315.000 $ (250.000 £)v kriptovalutah. Z možem "Richardom" (ni njegovo pravo ime) sta leta kopičilaCardanoNista bila bogata – ona je delala kot osebna asistentka, on pa kot skladatelj –, vendar sta bila metodična pri varčevanju in verjela, da bi vrednost premoženja lahko narasla.

Nato, vFebruar 2024, kriminalci so dostopali doračun za shranjevanje v oblakuki je vsebovala informacije o njihovih denarnicah in kako vstopiti vanje. Po majhni testni transakciji so tatovi vse svoje kovance prenesli v denarnice, ki so jih nadzorovali. Par je več mesecev brez moči opazoval, kako se njuna sredstva premetavajo naprej.

Ta nemoč je psihološki udarec kraje kriptovalut: glavna knjiga je pregledna, vendar identiteta denarnice pogosto ni.

Obseg: milijoni lastnikov, milijarde ukradenih

Lastništvo kriptovalut ni več niša. BBC navajaAnketa FCA iz avgusta 2024kar nakazuje približno12 % odraslih Britancevje imel v lasti kripto sredstva – približnosedem milijonov ljudiOcene po vsem svetu postavljajo lastništvo kriptovalut okoli560 milijonov.

Ker več ljudi poseduje kriptovalute, je na voljo več vrednosti za krajo. Podjetje za analizo veriženja blokovVerižna analizaocenjuje, da2025zabeležili skupno število kraj kriptovalutveč kot 3,4 milijarde dolarjev (2,5 milijarde funtov), številka, ki je od leta 2020 ostala približno v enakem razponu.

Pomemben delež teh izgub izvira iz obsežnih napadov na kripto podjetja. BBC navaja enega največjih primerov:Severnokorejski hekerji so ukradli 1,5 milijarde dolarjev (1,1 milijarde funtov)iz kripto borzeBybitvFebruar 2025.

Bolj zaskrbljujoč premik v zgodbi pa je dogajanje zunaj borz.

Premik k ciljanju na posameznike

Raziskava verižne analize, ki jo je navedel BBC, kaže, da so se napadi na posamezne vlagatelje povečali: od približno40.000 leta 2022do80.000 leta 2025.

Chainalysis ocenjuje, da je hekanje, prevare ali prisiljevanje posameznikov predstavljalo približnoUkradenih je bilo 20 % vse vrednosti kriptovalut, skupaj približno713 milijonov dolarjev (532 milijonov funtov)In podjetje opozarja, da bi to lahko bilo podcenjevanje, saj številne žrtve nikoli javno ne prijavijo tatvine.

Zakaj bi se kriminalci ukvarjali s posamezniki, če imajo borze milijarde?

Pojavlja se nekaj razlogov:

  1. Borze so izboljšale varnost in odzivanje na incidente.Velika podjetja si lahko privoščijo varnostne ekipe 24 ur na dan, 7 dni v tednu, spremljanje dvigov in strategije vračila sredstev.
  2. Posamezniki so zapletene tarče.Ljudje ponovno uporabljajo gesla, shranjujejo ključe v oblačnih pogonih, nasedajo prepričljivim klicem in se včasih hvalijo s svojimi lastniškimi podatki.
  3. Kripto "samovarstvo" je neizprosno.Če imate svojo banko, potem ni banke, ki bi jo morali poklicati.

Skratka: varnostne izboljšave v panogi morda napadalce potiskajo »nizvodno« k lažjemu plenu.

Regulacija in zaščita: česa ne dobite v kriptovalutah

BBC primerja kriptovalute s tradicionalnimi finančnimi zaščitami v Združenem kraljestvu, kjer se žrtve včasih lahko zanesejo na banke, podjetja s kreditnimi karticami,Storitev finančnega ombudsmanaaliShema nadomestil za finančne storitve.

Vlagatelji v kriptovalute teh varnostnih blazin večinoma nimajo.

TheFCAopisuje kriptovalute v Združenem kraljestvu kot »večinoma neregulirane in zelo tvegane« ter opozarja, da če gre kaj narobe, verjetno ne boste zaščiteni – zato morate biti pripravljeni izgubiti ves svoj denar.

BBC prav tako opozarja na nenavadno dejstvo, da imajo lahko celo veliki akterji neenakomerno razpoložljivost podpore, odvisno od jurisdikcije: navajaBinance, opisana kot največja kripto borza na svetu, poroča o1,4 milijona uporabnikov v Združenem kraljestvu, medtem ko je stran z nasveti za žrtve tatvin v Združenem kraljestvu blokirana.

Takšna vrzel ne ustvarja kriminala, lahko pa poslabša rezultate: manj jasnih poti za okrevanje pomeni več obupa in večjo odvisnost od shem za samostojno "okrevanje", ki lahko same postanejo prevare.

Prevare, ki so videti moderne, a delujejo na podlagi starodavnih nagonov

Tema poročila je, da številne kraje kriptovalut niso uspešne zaradi naprednega hekanja, temveč zato, ker kriminalci razumejo ljudi.

BBC opisuje primer iz ZDA, ki vključujeEvan Tangeman, 22, ki je priznal krivdo, da je bil član skupine z imenomPodjetje za socialni inženiringTožilci pravijo, da je skupina ukradla več kot260 milijonov dolarjev (194 milijonov funtov)medOktober 2023 in maj 2025, pogosto tako, da žrtve zavedejo, da mislijo, da imajo opravka z legitimnimi menjalnicami, in jih prepričajo, naj nakažejo kovance.

Ta »prepričevalni« del je pomemben. Če žrtev odobri prenos – tudi pod vplivom manipulacije – ga bo veriga blokov obravnavala kot veljavno, končno transakcijo.

Z drugimi besedami: kriptovalute ne le krepijo hekanje, ampak krepijo tudi socialni inženiring.

Ko tatvina postane fizična: »napadi s ključem«

Poročilo izpostavlja tudi najtemnejšo plat trenda: tatvino, ki zapusti zaslon.

V kripto skupnosti obstaja izraz za rope, pri katerih se z grožnjami ali nasiljem izsilijo prenos denarja:"Napadi s ključem", poimenovan po zgodbah o napadalcih, ki so uporabljali orodja, kot so ključi, za ustrahovanje žrtev.

BBC opisuje primere, ki kažejo, kako resnično je to postalo:

  • VŠpanija, kriminalci so poskušali par prisiliti k predaji kriptovalute; moškega so ustrelili v nogo, ga zadržali v ujetništvu in kasneje našli mrtvega v gozdu. Sledile so aretacije v Španiji in obtožbe na Danskem.
  • VFrancija, poskus ugrabitve družine direktorja kriptovalute je bil posnet na video.
  • V zgodnjih2025,David Balland, soustanovitelj podjetja za kripto varnostKnjižna knjiga, je bil ugrabljen skupaj z ženo; policija ju je kasneje rešila, vendar so Ballandu med poskusom izsiljevanja odrezali prst.
  • V Združenem kraljestvu je policija aretirala šest ljudi, potem ko so zamaskirani moški ustavili avtomobil, ki je vozil medOxford in Londonin prisilil stanovalca, da je prenesel kriptovaluto v vrednosti1,5 milijona funtov.

Vzorec je mračno logičen: če je kriptovalute mogoče prenesti takoj in nepovratno, potem fizična prisila postane »bližnjica« za kriminalce, ki že tako delujejo nasilno.

Kršitve podatkov: kako napadalci sestavljajo sezname tarč

Drugo gonilno silo kripto kriminala so podatki – ne le »kripto podatki«, temveč navadni podatki o potrošnikih.

BBC je intervjuval Matthewa Jonesa, ustanovitelja podjetja za kriptovalutno varnost Haven, ki trdi, da ker »bitcoinski milijonarji postajajo vse pogostejši«, ukradene baze podatkov nenehno bogatijo sezname tarč kriminalcev.

En primer v poročilu vključujeKering(matična družba blagovnih znamk, vključno z Guccijem in Balenciago). BBC poroča, da je heker trdil, da je kupil preglednice za300.000 $ (224.000 £)da bi identificirali tiste, ki veliko porabijo, nato pa jih primerjali z drugo ukradeno bazo podatkov, da bi ciljali na žrtve.

Heker je trdil, da je ogoljufal večCoinbaseuporabnikov od vsaj1,5 milijona dolarjev (1,1 milijona funtov)v kriptovalutah in BBC-ju pokazal dokaze, da je imel podatke v lasti in da so bili v lasti700.000 $ (522.000 £)v Bitcoinu, za katerega je dejal, da prihaja od ene žrtve.

Kering je za BBC že prej povedal, da so bili njihovi IT-sistemi po vdoru zavarovani in da niso bile ukradene nobene številke bančnih računov, podatki o kreditnih karticah ali številke vladnih osebnih izkaznic.

Tudi brez plačilnih podatkov so lahko kontaktni podatki in vzorci porabe dovolj za izdelavo prepričljivega prevarnega scenarija.

Varnostna tekma v oboroževanju: biometrija, geofencing, gumbi za paniko

Ker kriptovalute temeljijo na ideji »samostretništva« – hrambe lastnih ključev – industrija poskuša naknadno opremiti zaščito, ki jo ljudje pričakujejo od bank.

Matthew Jones pravi, da so mu sami ukradli kriptovalute in da razvija varnostne funkcije denarnic, kot so:

  • Neprekinjeno biometrično preverjanje, da se zagotovi, da lahko kovance pošilja samo lastnik.
  • Geofencing, za blokiranje transakcij zunaj odobrenih lokacij, kot sta dom ali služba.
  • Agumb za paniko, verjetno za hitro zamrznitev dejavnosti, ko nekdo sumi na prisilo ali kompromis.

To so poskusi prenosa varnostnih konceptov iz resničnega sveta (preverjanje identitete, označevanje sumljivih lokacij, zaustavitve v sili) v sistem, ki je bil zasnovan tako, da se izogne ​​centralnemu nadzoru.

Vendar pa osrednje opozorilo BBC-ja ostaja: bolj ko ljudje kriptovalute obravnavajo kot običajen varčevalni račun, bolj jih lahko preseneti, kako malo zaščite potrošnikov obstaja.

Praktični koraki za navadne imetnike

Če imate kriptovalute – četudi le relativno majhno količino – poročilo predlaga nekaj obrambnih potez z visokim vzvodom:

  1. S svojo ključno besedno zvezo ravnajte kot z gotovino in potnim listom skupaj.Če je izpostavljen, je okrevanje malo verjetno.
  2. Izogibajte se shranjevanju podatkov za dostop do denarnice v oblačnih pogonih.Udobje lahko postane pot napada, kot v primeru Helen in Richarda.
  3. Omogočite močno varnost računov povsod.Upravitelji gesel, večfaktorska avtentikacija in edinstvena gesla zmanjšujejo možnost vdora.
  4. Bodite skeptični do nujnih stikov za »podporo pri izmenjavi«.Socialni inženiring pogosto izkorišča časovni pritisk.
  5. Upoštevajte fizično tveganje.Ne objavljajte svojih sredstev in dobro premislite, kako zlahka bi vas lahko prisilili.

Bistvo

Kriminal s kriptovalutami ni le o elitnih hekerjih, ki izčrpavajo borze. Vse bolj gre za kriminalce, ki uporabljajo uhajanje podatkov, prepričevanje in včasih nasilje za ciljanje posameznikov – saj kripto sistem omogoča uspešne tatvine hitre, globalne in težko preklicne. Če ste »svoja lastna banka«, podedujete tudi varnostno delo banke – in trenutno se mnogi ljudje ne zavedajo, kako zahtevno je to delo, dokler denarja ni več.

Viri

Document Title
Crypto theft explained: why criminals target individuals — scams, data leaks, and ‘wrench attacks’
Crypto crime is increasingly aimed at individual investors, using leaked data, social engineering and sometimes physical coercion. An explainer on how it works, what protections are missing, and practical ways to reduce risk.
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Crypto theft explained: why criminals target individuals — scams, data leaks, and ‘wrench attacks’
Nature
Climate
How crypto criminals are shifting from exchange hacks to targeting individuals
/
Technology
/ By
Admin
Crypto theft has a special kind of cruelty built into it. Even when your coins are gone, you can often still
see
them moving — hop by hop — across the public blockchain. It’s like watching your wallet being carried away through a glass corridor you’re not allowed to enter.
A BBC investigation into crypto crime puts hard numbers and human stories on a trend that’s been quietly shifting: while huge exchange hacks still dominate headlines, more criminals are turning their attention to individual investors — using old-school scams, leaked data, and, in the worst cases, physical violence.
Why crypto theft feels different from normal fraud
In traditional finance, the most common “happy ending” is boring: a bank reverses a transfer, a card company cancels a charge, or an insurer makes you whole. Crypto, by design, doesn’t work that way.
The BBC story opens with “Helen”, a UK resident who says she lost around
$315,000 (£250,000)
in cryptocurrency. For years she and her husband “Richard” (not his real name) had accumulated
Cardano
. They weren’t wealthy — she worked as a personal assistant, he as a composer — but they were methodical about saving and believed the asset could rise in value.
Then, in
February 2024
, criminals accessed a
cloud storage account
that contained information about their wallets and how to get in. After a small test transaction, the thieves moved all their coins into wallets they controlled. The couple watched for months as their funds were shuffled onward, powerless.
That helplessness is the psychological punch of crypto theft: the ledger is transparent, but the identity behind the wallet often isn’t.
The scale: millions of owners, billions stolen
Crypto ownership is no longer niche. The BBC cites an
FCA survey from August 2024
suggesting roughly
12% of British adults
had owned crypto-assets — about
seven million people
. Globally, estimates put crypto ownership around
560 million
.
With more people holding crypto, more value is available to steal. Blockchain analysis firm
Chainalysis
estimates that
2025
saw total crypto thefts of
more than $3.4bn (£2.5bn)
, a figure that has stayed in roughly the same range since 2020.
A significant share of those losses come from large-scale attacks on crypto companies. The BBC notes one of the biggest examples:
North Korean hackers stole $1.5bn (£1.1bn)
from the crypto exchange
Bybit
in
February 2025
But the story’s more worrying shift is what happens outside the exchanges.
The shift toward targeting individuals
Chainalysis research cited by the BBC suggests attacks on individual investors have surged: from about
40,000 in 2022
to
80,000 in 2025
Chainalysis estimates that hacking, scamming, or coercing individuals accounted for around
20% of all crypto value stolen
, totalling about
$713m (£532m)
. And the firm warns this could be an undercount because many victims never report theft publicly.
Why would criminals bother with individuals when exchanges hold billions?
A few reasons emerge:
Exchanges have improved security and incident response.
Big firms can afford 24/7 security teams, withdrawal monitoring, and clawback strategies.
Individuals are messy targets.
People reuse passwords, store keys in cloud drives, fall for persuasive calls, and sometimes boast about holdings.
Crypto “self custody” is unforgiving.
If you’re your own bank, there’s no bank to call.
In short: the industry’s security improvements may be pushing attackers “downstream” to the easier prey.
Regulation and protection: what you don’t get in crypto
The BBC contrasts crypto with traditional finance protections in the UK, where victims can sometimes lean on banks, card companies, the
Financial Ombudsman Service
, or the
Financial Services Compensation Scheme
Crypto investors largely don’t have those cushions.
The
FCA
describes crypto in the UK as “largely unregulated and high-risk” and warns that if something goes wrong, you’re unlikely to be protected — so you should be prepared to lose all your money.
The BBC also notes the odd reality that even major players can have patchy support availability depending on jurisdiction: it cites
Binance
, described as the world’s largest crypto exchange, reporting about
1.4 million UK users
, while an advice page for victims of theft is blocked in the UK.
That kind of gap doesn’t create crime, but it can worsen outcomes: fewer clear recovery paths means more desperation and more reliance on do-it-yourself “recovery” schemes that can become scams themselves.
Scams that look modern — but run on ancient instincts
A theme running through the report is that many crypto thefts succeed not because of advanced hacking, but because criminals understand people.
The BBC describes a US case involving
Evan Tangeman
, 22, who pleaded guilty to being part of a group dubbed the
Social Engineering Enterprise
. Prosecutors say the group stole more than
$260m (£194m)
between
October 2023 and May 2025
, often by tricking victims into thinking they were dealing with legitimate exchanges and persuading them to transfer coins.
That “persuading” part matters. If a victim authorises a transfer — even under manipulation — the blockchain will treat it as a valid, final transaction.
In other words: crypto doesn’t just amplify hacking; it amplifies social engineering.
When theft becomes physical: “wrench attacks”
The report also highlights the darkest edge of the trend: theft that leaves the screen.
In the crypto community, there’s a term for robberies that use threats or violence to force a transfer:
“wrench attacks”
, named after stories of attackers using tools like spanners to intimidate victims.
The BBC describes cases that show how real this has become:
In
Spain
, criminals tried to force a couple to hand over cryptocurrency; the man was shot in the leg, held captive, and later found dead in woodland. Arrests followed in Spain and charges in Denmark.
France
, an attempted kidnapping of a crypto executive’s family was captured on video.
In early
,
David Balland
, co-founder of crypto security company
Ledger
, was abducted with his wife; police later rescued them, but Balland’s finger was cut off during the extortion attempt.
In the UK, police arrested six people after masked men stopped a car travelling between
Oxford and London
and forced an occupant to transfer cryptocurrency valued at
£1.5m
The pattern is grimly logical: if crypto can be transferred instantly and irreversibly, then physical coercion becomes a “shortcut” for criminals who already operate violently.
Data breaches: how attackers build lists of targets
Another engine of crypto crime is data — not just “crypto data”, but ordinary consumer information.
The BBC interviews Matthew Jones, founder of crypto security firm Haven, who argues that as “Bitcoin millionaires are becoming so frequent,” stolen databases are constantly enriching criminals’ target lists.
One example in the report involves
Kering
(parent of brands including Gucci and Balenciaga). The BBC says a hacker claimed to have bought spreadsheets for
$300,000 (£224,000)
to identify high spenders, then cross-referenced them with another stolen database to target victims.
That hacker claimed to have scammed multiple
Coinbase
users out of at least
$1.5m (£1.1m)
in crypto, and showed the BBC evidence that he possessed the data and that he owned
$700,000 (£522,000)
in Bitcoin that he said came from one victim.
Kering previously told the BBC that its IT systems had been secured after the breach and that no bank account numbers, credit card information, or government ID numbers were stolen.
Even without payment details, contact info plus spending patterns can be enough to build a compelling scam script.
The security arms race: biometrics, geofencing, panic buttons
Because crypto is built around the idea of “self custody” — holding your own keys — the industry is trying to retrofit protections that people expect from banks.
Matthew Jones says he has had crypto stolen himself, and he is developing wallet security features like:
Continuous biometric checks
, to ensure only the owner can send coins.
Geofencing
, to block transactions outside approved locations like home or work.
A
panic button
, presumably to quickly freeze activity when someone suspects coercion or compromise.
These are attempts to translate real-world safety concepts (identity verification, suspicious-location flags, emergency shutdowns) into a system that was designed to avoid central control.
But the BBC’s central warning remains: the more people treat crypto like a normal savings account, the more they can be blindsided by how few consumer protections exist.
Practical steps for ordinary holders
If you hold crypto — even a relatively small amount — the report suggests a few high-leverage defensive moves:
Treat your seed phrase like cash and a passport combined.
If it’s exposed, recovery is unlikely.
Avoid storing wallet access details in cloud drives.
Convenience can become an attack path, as in Helen and Richard’s case.
Enable strong account security everywhere.
Password managers, multi-factor authentication, and unique passwords reduce the chance of compromise.
Be sceptical of urgent “exchange support” contacts.
Social engineering often exploits time pressure.
Consider the physical risk.
Don’t publicise holdings, and think carefully about how easily you could be coerced.
Bottom line
Crypto crime isn’t just about elite hackers draining exchanges. It’s increasingly about criminals using leaked data, persuasion, and sometimes violence to target individuals — because the crypto system makes successful thefts fast, global, and hard to reverse. If you’re “your own bank,” you also inherit the bank’s security job — and right now, many people don’t realise how demanding that job is until after the money is gone.
Sources
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c93w30gl5jno?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss
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