Despite increasing regulations, London is emerging as a hotspot for crypto-related crimes. In a recent incident, a 42-year-old man, Christian D’Ippolito, had nearly £40,000 worth of crypto assets stolen.
According to a report by The Financial Times, Christian became a victim of a crypto theft earlier this month. While heading home after a night out near Old Street roundabout, his mobile device was snatched by four men. Over the next few hours, his crypto wallet was emptied of nearly £40,000 worth of assets.
This isn’t a lone case. The London Metropolitan Police say that there is a surge in cases where smartphones of crypto asset holders were stolen in street encounters, notably in areas around Old Street roundabout and Brixton. This allows thieves to access their cryptocurrency wallets and drain tens of thousands of pounds of crypto assets.
Young adults are the primary prey
With increasing popularity of cryptocurrency, theft incidents are also surging in the UK. Financial Times notes that one in four people aged 18 to 34 own crypto in the country, in which men are most likely to be so.
The modus operandi of these thieves target young men returning from social events in the evenings. They then engage them in informal talks before snatching their phones. They swiftly move money by getting around security measures, occasionally resetting Apple IDs or taking advantage of cryptocurrency apps.
“They seemed pretty friendly, we were just talking. One of them asked me to take his number for the future. I logged in. At that point, they just grabbed my phone,” said Neil Kotak, another victim who had lost £10,000 in a similar phone snatching incident.
Smartphone dependency increases vulnerabilities
The combination of smartphone dependency and the growing popularity of crypto has created new vulnerabilities. An unlocked phone can expose emails, passwords, two-factor authentication (2FA) codes, and even photos of passports, giving thieves full access to victims’ digital assets.
Even though most crypto transactions are traceable, most thieves are able to get away with the thefts. Only a small percentage of reported fraud, according to Pounder, the former Met and City of London police officer, receives action. In his recent work, Pounder reports 20 thefts to Action Fraud, the police’s specialist fraud unit, and provides supporting evidence. Though the police proceeded with none of the cases.
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