QUADRIGA INITIATIVE
CRYPTO WATCHDOG & FRAUD RECOVERY PLATFORM
A COMMUNITY-BASED, NOT-FOR-PROFIT
$1 900 000 USD
NOVEMBER 2020
VENEZUELA
BANCAR EXCHANGE
DESCRIPTION OF EVENTS
Bancar "is the safest platform for buying, selling and managing your cryptocurrencies in Venezuela." "We are a Crypto Assets Exchange House striving to offer a quality service, with financial strength. We believe in close and long-term relationships with our clients and we understand that their trust is our great support for growth, for this reason; Our responsibility in each business aims to assess the decisions made, with the dedication and vision for the future that is required."
"At CASA DE INTERCAMBIO DE CRIPTOACTIVOS BANCAR, CA, we strive to be an organization recognized for our quality of service, our financial strength and our responsible professionalism." Bancar "offers you a variety of services to be the safest way to start doing business and exchanging." "Various ways to fully control your purse / wallet." "The digital currency stored on our servers is covered by our insurance policy."
"José Manuel Osorio Mendoza, 33, and Kelvin Jonathan Diaz, 34, are accused of breaking into the servers of Bancar Exchange, one of about a dozen cryptocurrency exchanges authorized to operate in Venezuela. After circumventing the platform's security, they allegedly proceeded to make Bitcoin and fiat transfers to various accounts associated with them." "CICPC stated, “These citizens accessed the systems, bypassing all its security and in turn carried out several transactions for a total amount of 101 BTC, which were not authorized by the Bancar company."
"The two targeted local digital currency exchange Bancar, Decrypt reports. To cover their tracks, they used obfuscation protocols, but the CICPC still managed to track them down. The investigative agency, which is Venezuela’s largest national police body, worked with national internet service provider CANTV to track them down." "The two used obfuscation protocols to cover their tracks, but police managed to track the heist to a company they are associated with." "As per local reports, the two suspects were associated with PROINSA CA, a company whose servers Bancar exchange reportedly used. It’s not clear how the two alleged criminals were associated with the company."
"Venezuelan authorities arrested [the] two hackers." "The Venezuelan Scientific, Criminal, and Criminalistic Investigations Corps (CICPC) announced recently that it had apprehended the two cybercriminals. 34-year-old Kevin Diaz and 33-year-old Jose Manuel Mendoza allegedly stole 101 BTC, worth $1.93 million at press time."
"Bancar exchange has yet to make a statement regarding the heist."
Very limited detail is available about what happened to Bancar Exchange, but given the size of the platform, it would appear that far too much was stored in their hot wallet. As the theives were arrested, it's likely that some of the funds will be recovered.
HOW COULD THIS HAVE BEEN PREVENTED?
For the best security, funds should be stored in offline multi-signature wallets requiring signatures from multiple trusted and trained individuals.
No Title (Aug 3)
Venezuela Arrests Suspects in $2 Million Bitcoin Heist - Decrypt (Aug 3)
Venezuelan hackers who stole $1.9M in BTC arrested - CoinGeek (Sep 2)
Bancar – Casa de intercambio de criptoactivos (Sep 2)
Bancar Exchange | Casa de Cambio de Criptoactivos (Sep 2)
Conócenos – Bancar (Sep 2)