Criminals sell dangerous USB sticks to store cryptocurrencies, so-called hardware wallets, to steal bitcoins, ethers and other digital coins.
The inventor of the Ledger Nano S, one of the most popular hardware wallets, warns against this new form of fraud. He responds to the story of a Reddit user who states that his crypto coins were stolen with a value of $ 34,000 after he bought a second-hand Ledger Nano S on Ebay.
This device was prepared in such a way that the crook had access to the wallet. After the victim put all his cryptocurrencies on the device, the digital coins were transferred to another wallet by the criminal. The victim says that he has lost all his savings.
Not second-hand
Eric Larchevêque, the creator of the Ledger Nano S, says he legally assists several victims of this form of fraud. The company is also going to adjust its software so that customers know when someone has started working on the USB stick. It is advisable to always purchase a hardware wallet via the official sales channels.
"This is just the beginning", writes Larchevêque on Reddit. "With upcoming crypto-market worth a trillion dollars and millions of new applications worldwide, both simple and advanced scams will occur more and more."