Finally lost some Bitcoin due to a hack 😞

Takeaway: Remove your Bitcoin from exchanges as soon as possible and monitor your bank accounts.

Story: I’ll try to keep this short. I've been working toward orange-pilling my dad for a few years. I bought him a hardware wallet and some bitcoin about 4 years ago. The only way he was going to understand this was if he had some skin in the game and I took him through a cycle on his own. He was interested from the beginning but did not understand much. He eventually wanted to learn how to buy his own Bitcoin. I suggested Coinbase (my first mistake), and he was able to get set up and purchase his own Bitcoin. It was only a minimal amount, and when I would visit, I helped him move it to his wallet.

Since then, he has bought a little bit more (about $200), and by the time of the hack, it was worth a little over $300.

The hack: On October 31st, he noticed his bank had a charge for $1000 from Coinbase. He had to pay $35 to cancel this charge. Then he called me, and we looked at his Coinbase. Someone got in and sent all his Bitcoin away (~$300), and they tried to buy $1000 more. Luckily, we stopped the $1000, but he lost the $300. Coinbass told him to call local law enforcement, but I told him that was hopeless.

Anyway, he now says, “I’m out.” :( He was just starting to come around to Bitcoin, see real returns, and ask better questions about energy and liberty. But now I fear he is back to square one.

Supper shitty. Even with 2-factor, he was vulnerable. This was my first brush with a hack, and now I will be more cautious about the exchanges I reccomend. And will now lower my threshold for sending funds to cold storage.

Hopefully someone finds this story useful. I am still really bumped for my dad. I just hope he can see this as a learning experience and not let it turn him away from Bitcoin for good.

#bitcoin