BLOCKCHAIN BATTLES

LOSING IT IN LONDON. As Gerald Celente says, when people have nothing to lose, they lose it.

According to The Guardian, London thieves are targeting digital currency investors in a spate of “crypto muggings,” with victims claiming large amounts taken after their phones were grabbed.

City of London police say criminals are combining strength and know-how to rob victims of their bitcoin. Because cryptocurrency transactions are irreversible, they have appeal to criminals.

Muggers compelled one victim to give up his phone as he was booking an Uber, The Guardian reported. 

The group returned the phone, and the victim subsequently discovered that £5,000 ($6,170) in ethereum had vanished from his account with the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase.

There are safeguards in many non-custodial wallets that do things like requiring a personal PIN number to be entered in order to transfer crypto tokens out of the wallet.  

But criminals who can force someone to turn over a phone, can certainly force someone to give up their PIN code.

The trend in London has police there concerned, though, according to The Guardian story, they seem to have little constructive advice to offer potential victims, at least so far.

Phil Ariss, who leads the cryptocurrency team for the National Police Chiefs’ Council cybercrime program, said police are looking at ways to inform the public about the need to be cautious when accessing a crypto account.

“You wouldn’t count £50 bills while walking along the street. That should apply to anyone who have cryptocurrency holdings.”

How anyone could be flashing their crypto in such a manner on their cell phone, is puzzling, though it’s possible that with more retailers accepting crypto payments, thugs might spy and track someone making a crypto purchase.