QUADRIGA INITIATIVE
CRYPTO WATCHDOG & FRAUD RECOVERY PLATFORM
A COMMUNITY-BASED, NOT-FOR-PROFIT
$0 USD
JANUARY 2018
CANADA
CANADIAN BITCOINS
DESCRIPTION OF EVENTS
"Canadian Bitcoins is a cryptocurrency brokerage allowing customers to buy or sell bitcoins, litecoins and other cryptocurrencies." "Fill out the BUY form on the Buy/Sell page. Specifying the amount of $CAD you wish to spend on Bitcoins/Crypto, and your wallet address that you want to receive the purchased crypto at. Choose your payment method, and follow the instructions that are emailed to you. When we receive the payment, we will deposit the Bitcoins/crypto to the provided wallet address." "Please note orders must still be approved manually on our side before any coins are sent, typically Mon-Fri 9-5." "We can currently only service Canadians, living in Canada."
“Three people entered the offices of Canadian Bitcoins in Ottawa carrying handguns and restrained four employees on Tuesday morning” “Ottawa police have arrested one suspect and are looking for two others after employees at a bitcoin financial institution were held up at gunpoint.” “[T]hey attempted to compel one of the employees to make an outbound transaction from the exchange.” “The attempted robbery happened on Concourse Gate off Colonnade Road just before 11 a.m., police said in a media release issued Wednesday.” “Three suspects entered the business armed with handguns, gained control over four employees and bound them, police said. One of the employees was struck on the head with a gun.” “A fifth employee, who remained unseen in an office, contacted police, and the suspects fled empty-handed.” “Arriving officers saw one of the suspects run into a ravine north of Colonnade Road, and "extensive resources" were deployed to find him, including tactical and K-9 unit officers.” “Police declined to name the business or describe it as anything more than a “Bitcoin related financial institution,” but an exchange called Canadian Bitcoins lists its physical address as being in the immediate area of the robbery, which was identified by police. A spokesperson for Canadian Bitcoins confirmed that their offices were targeted on Tuesday over email.” “Yesterday, there was an attempted robbery at our office in Ottawa,” the spokesperson wrote. “As police have mentioned, no one was seriously hurt during the incident, but one staff member did sustain minor injuries. Our focus is on supporting our staff at this time as well as working with the police in their investigation.” “The suspect was arrested later Wednesday "without incident," police said.” “Police arrested 19-year-old Jimmy St-Hilaire, and are now on the hunt for the two remaining suspects.” “The two suspects at large are described as black men. Police also want to talk to a “person of interest” who was inside the business when the suspects arrived.”
The Canadian Bitcoins office appears to have been visited by multiple individuals with handguns. Four employees were bound, and a fifth was unseen and called for police. Aside from one employee being hit over the head with a gun, there were no injuries and no funds were taken.
HOW COULD THIS HAVE BEEN PREVENTED?
For better protection, funds should be stored in a multi-signature wallet with all keys held by different people and stored offline. It is never a good idea to have all signatories together in one place. If thieves wish to take funds, they will need cooperation of individuals who are offsite, and are certain to alert authorities.
Suspect charged in bitcoin heist, police hunt 2 others (Mar 8)
Bitcoin Exchange Hit By Armed Robbers in Thwarted Theft - CoinDesk (Mar 14)
Three Armed Men Attempted to Rob a Bitcoin Exchange In Canada - VICE (Mar 14)
Staff at bitcoin business bound by armed bandits, say police (Mar 14)
https://www.facebook.com/Canadianbitcoins/videos/445172325995189/ (Nov 13)
Canadian Bitcoins - Headquarter Locations, Competitors, Financials, Employees (Nov 13)
Canadian Bitcoins - 26 Reviews - Bitcoin Exchange - BitTrust.org (Nov 13)
How it Works - Canadian Bitcoins (Nov 13)
