WHEN YOU HAVE BITCOINS, BETTER REMAIN DISCREET

The value of Bitcoin has increased significantly this year, which rightly attracts many curious. But digital asset owners seem to have become prey of choice - prey that would benefit from being unobtrusive.

How many Bitcoins do you have?

Has anyone ever asked you how many Bitcoins you have?

You may have mentioned at the end of a conversation that you bought Bitcoins ... and people often want to know more.

"But then, how many Bitcoins do you have?"

It is as if someone, who you do not necessarily know very well, asked you to disclose your salary, or provide an estimate of your wealth.

And yet, some people - who may not be able to retain their curiosity - do not hesitate to ask such questions.

Moreover, as the value of a Bitcoin is now very high, they may tend to assume that all individuals who hold digital assets are necessarily wealthy. They forget that we can quite own only a fraction of Bitcoin - a fraction that can still correspond to several hundred or even thousands of euros.

The fact that blockchain technology is still relatively new (Bitcoin did not introduce it until 2008), and that most individuals do not know how it works, could stir up even more their curiosity.

But beyond the importance of confidentiality, which many people value when it comes to their financial wealth, there is a reason why it is better not to disclose its digital heritage: to avoid jeopardizing the security of its assets.

Many victims have been robbed of their Bitcoins

Bitcoin thiefThe fact that the value of Bitcoin has been about 10 times since the beginning of the year seems to have aroused the interest of many unscrupulous individuals.

Since hackers can not directly attack the blockchain of Bitcoin, which has never been hacked, they are interested in other methods that could allow them to empty their digital wallet for their benefit. victim.

Some would have achieved, by obtaining access to their target phone account, to extract the equivalent of several million euros in Bitcoin, as explained in this article. With a dose of manipulation and a simple phone number, they were able to rob Jered Kenna, Brock Pierce, Adam Draper, Charlie Shrem and many others.

Jesse PowellJesse Powell, the CEO of the Kraken trading platform, published an interesting article on the subject in mid-November in which he stated:

"If you are, in any way, publicly involved in the cryptocurrency ecosystem, consider yourself a target. You must immediately ensure the security of your accounts - especially your email, social networks, social networking and mobile phone.

And here is the perfect example of what we do not advise you to do:

To live safely, live in a hidden place

As shown in the image above, many people do not hesitate to display on the social networks of their digital fortune ... and some have quickly bitten their fingers.

A few days ago, we reported the case of a man of Turkish nationality, who had been robbed 450 BTC (about 3.8 million euros). He was spotted by posting a luxurious lifestyle on social networks, while evoking the fact that he held Bitcoins.

He became a prime target in the eyes of some local criminals, who did not hesitate to seize his laptop, kidnap him to take him into a minibus in which he was abused for 8 hours. , until he agrees to provide access to his BTC portfolio.

Another bad idea? Leave a paper containing your "seed phrase" in your wallet. Last May, we saw a discussion on 4chan in which an individual explained that he was hesitant to seize the wallet of his friend, after copying the "seed sentence" that was in his wallet.

If we do not know how the story ended, we can think that his "friend" probably lost the 70 BTC (about 590 000 euros) that were stored in his digital wallet.

Also, forget the Ponzi pyramids, sites that offer you to "double" your Bitcoins, and always check the checksum of a wallet you download.

Finally, it is highly recommended to enable two-factor authentication on all services related to the cryptocurrencies you use.

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