In a note released on Thursday (9), British authorities reported that the victims of a cryptocurrency theft that took place in 2018 will receive a reward of 1.9 million pounds sterling (R$11.4 million).
Basically, the victims had access to a website called “iotaseed” to generate IOTA cryptocurrency (IOTA) wallets. However, the owner of the site had access to the private keys created there and thus stole millions from investors.
At the time of writing, IOTA is worth $0.18 and is the 78th largest cryptocurrency on the market with a market cap of $541 million. IOTA was the 10th largest cryptocurrency on the market at the time of the crime, trading for around $4 per unit.
Hacker is arrested and victims get part of their investments back
According to a statement from SEROCU (South East United Kingdom Regional Organized Crime Unit), the hacker is named Wybo Wiersma, a 40-year-old Dutchman. Wiersma was sentenced to 4.5 years in prison in January of that year.
As recently as 2019, a year after the hack, the authorities had already arrested a suspect for the multi-million theft from IOTA, possibly Wiersma. At the time, cryptocurrencies were valued at US$11.4 million (R$56 million).
“All victims used the iotaseed website[ponto]io, a fraudulent website created by Wiersma, to generate what they believed to be a random ‘seed phrase’. However, these initial sentences were predetermined by Wiersma, allowing him to take control of the tokens.”SEROCU explained.
With the victims’ cryptocurrencies in hand, the hacker transferred these IOTAs to various cryptocurrency exchanges to sell them, but authorities managed to intercept some of these sales.
“SEROCU has seized approximately 2.37 million pounds sterling (R$14.2 million) worth of cryptocurrencies from a broker. This was the first time in the country that this legislation was used to confiscate a grant.”
Following this, British authorities state that approximately 50 to 60 victims have been identified so far in various countries and that they will receive an amount of 1.9 million pounds sterling (R$ 11.4 million). In addition to a prison sentence of four and a half years, the hacker was fined £2.11 million (R$10.3 million).
“To return the money to the victims, SEROCU had to overcome significant challenges in converting the cryptocurrency into British Pounds.”
Finally, the announcement points out that the investigation received the support of the United Kingdom Monetary Authority (FCA), the United Kingdom National Council of Police Chiefs (NPCC) and cryptocurrency broker Kraken.
Finally, the recommendation for cryptocurrency investors is to look for reliable cryptocurrency wallets. For larger amounts, it is also advisable to invest in a hardware wallet, which offers more security when used in an isolated environment.
Source: Live Coins
Barry Siefert is an accomplished journalist and author at The Nation View. He is known for his expertise in the field of cryptocurrency, and has written extensively on the topic. With a background in finance and economics, Barry has a deep understanding of the underlying technology and market forces that drive the crypto industry.
