Toronto police issued a statement asking for public assistance in identifying four men suspected of carrying out a series of Bitcoinacross Canada.
Late last year, the Calgary Police Service received information about several fraudulent transactions made at Bitcoin ATMs, specifically targeting a Canadian Bitcoin company. It is unclear why the criminals are targeting the company in question.
“It is alleged that between Sunday, September 16, 2018, and Wednesday, September 26, 2018, 112 fraudulent Bitcoin ATM transactions occurred in seven cities across Canada,” the police statement said.
Approximately $150,000 was stolen during the 10-day period.
The statement said the fraudsters were using the “double-spending” technique to withdraw money from specialized ATMs for free. Double-spending, which typically involves canceling a transaction before it has a chance to be confirmed and keeping the withdrawn funds, was a common practice.
In this case, it appears that hackers were making unconfirmed transactions to allow withdrawals from the company’s ATMs across Canada. These scammers have exploited a serious security flaw in certain types of Bitcoin ATMs.
Police investigating the case believe the suspects were working together to defraud the Bitcoin ATM operator, whose name has not been revealed. Investigators also believe the gang is very knowledgeable about Bitcoin, blockchain and other cryptocurrencies.
The gang has not yet been identified by the authorities.
