Fake Wallet From Reddit

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In January 2017, Andrew Schober was tricked into downloading a malicious application which modified his clipboard. As a result, he ended up sending his bitcoin to 2 teenagers in the UK. The thieves did nothing to obscure the coins and deposited them directly on the Bitfinex platform. Andrew Schober spent tens of thousands of dollars and many years tracking down the culprits and is presently attempting to sue them. However, the statute of limitations limits claims to 2-3 years.

This is a global/international case not involving a specific country.

About Unknown

"Colorado resident Andrew Schober’s stash of 16 Bitcoin was stolen from him in a 2018 malware attack, court documents allege. At the time, it was worth about $220,000 and was ​​95% of his net wealth."

In January 2017, Andrew Schober’s "computer was infected by a malicious program called Electrum Atom that stole £145,800 worth of Bitcoin from me." "A forensic investigation of Schober’s computer found he’d inadvertently downloaded malicious software after clicking a link posted on Reddit for a purported cryptocurrency wallet application called “Electrum Atom.” Investigators determined that the malware was bundled with the benign program, and was designed to lie in wait for users to copy a cryptocurrency address to their computer’s temporary clipboard."

"The malware was designed to wait for the user to copy a crypto wallet address to the temporary clipboard of his computer. When he tried to move 16.4 Bitcoins from his account to another, the malware changed his payment wallet address with a different address controlled by the two young men."

"Schober alleges that Benedict Thompson, of Hampshire, UK, and Oliver Read, of West Yorkshire, UK, orchestrated the theft when they were minors."

"Thompson is now studying computer science at the University of Warwick, the suit says, and Read previously studied computer science at Greenhead College in the UK."

"When the two were boys, they allegedly advertised criminal software on Reddit, where Schober inadvertently installed it, thinking it was a legitimate program."

"The malware was able to direct Schober’s bitcoin to a third-party account that allegedly belonged to Thompson and Read."

“He did not eat or sleep for days afterward and has been in a severe state of distress for the past three years.” It adds: “Mr. Schober was planning to use the proceeds from his eventual sale of the cryptocurrency to help finance a home and support his family.” "The cryptocurrency accounted for approximately 95 per cent of his net wealth at the time it was stolen from him."

"The stolen funds were then depositeed at the cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex. With the help of an attorney and private investigation firm, the theft was traced to Oliver Paul Read, from Bradford, West Yorkshire. It seems your son has been using malware to steal money from people online."

"Schober spent $10,000 on an investigation and tracked the Bitcoin to the two teenagers in the U.K., documents say. Both Thompson and Read have studied computer science, including at a top U.K. university, the filing notes."

Schober then wrote a letter to the parents of Read, where he asked for the money to be returned. “Your son is obviously a very intelligent young man,” he wrote in 2018. “I do not wish for him to be robbed of his future.”

"As his parents, I am appealing to you first to give him the chance to make this right, without involving law enforcement. Your son is obviously a very intelligent young man. I do not wish for him to be robbed of his future, however it would not be just to let him inflict such a damaging blow to my future."

"If he returns what he stole in full, 16.4552 BTC, to [this address] by October 21, 2012, I will drop this matter and move on. If not, we will pursue recourse through Action Fraud. Given his age and the nature of the crimes, he would likely be charged as an adult. The minimum sentence for Theft: Category 1 Harm (>£100k) with high culpability, and Computer Misuse Section 3: Reckless Intent to Impair Operation, is 4 years and 6 months custody, plus payment of restitution."

"Now they are responding. One of the defendants —Hazel D. Wells — just filed a motion with the court to represent herself and her son in lieu of hiring an attorney. In a filing on Aug. 9, Wells helpfully included the letter in the screenshot above, and volunteered that her son had been questioned by U.K. authorities in connection with the bitcoin theft."

"Neither of the defendants’ families are disputing the basic claim that their kids stole from Mr. Schober. Rather, they’re asserting that time has run out on Schober’s legal ability to claim a cause of action against them."

“Plaintiff alleges two common law causes of action (conversion and trespass to chattel), for which a three-year statute of limitations applies,” an attorney for the defendants argued in a filing on Aug. 6 (PDF). “Plaintiff further alleges a federal statutory cause of action, for which a two-year statute of limitations applies. Because plaintiff did not file his lawsuit until May 21, 2021, three years and five months after his injury, his claims should be dismissed.”

"In August, lawyers for Hazel Davina Wells, the mother of Oliver Read, filed court papers that argued that the two year statute of limitations had passed before Mr Schober filed his case and asked a judge to dismiss the claim." "Schober’s attorneys argue (PDF) that “the statute of limitations begins to run when the Plaintiff knows or has reason to know of the existence and cause of the injury which is the base of his action,” and that inherent in this concept is the discovery rule, namely: That the statute of limitations does not begin to run until the plaintiff knows or has reason to know of both the existence and cause of his injury."

"The plaintiffs point out that Schober’s investigators didn’t pinpoint one of the young men’s involvement until more than a year after they’d identified his co-conspirator, saying Schober notified the second boy’s parents in December 2019."

This is a global/international case not involving a specific country.

The background of the exchange platform, service, or individuals involved, as it would have been seen or understood at the time of the events.

Include:

• Known history of when and how the service was started.
• What problems does the company or service claim to solve?
• What marketing materials were used by the firm or business?
• Audits performed, and excerpts that may have been included.
• Business registration documents shown (fake or legitimate).
• How were people recruited to participate?
• Public warnings and announcements prior to the event.

Don't Include:

• Any wording which directly states or implies that the business is/was illegitimate, or that a vulnerability existed.
• Anything that wasn't reasonably knowable at the time of the event.

There could be more than one section here. If the same platform is involved with multiple incidents, then it can be linked to a main article page.

The Reality

This sections is included if a case involved deception or information that was unknown at the time. Examples include:

• When the service was actually started (if different than the "official story").
• Who actually ran a service and their own personal history.
• How the service was structured behind the scenes. (For example, there was no "trading bot".)
• Details of what audits reported and how vulnerabilities were missed during auditing.

What Happened

The specific events of the loss and how it came about. What actually happened to cause the loss and some of the events leading up to it.

Key Event Timeline - Fake Wallet From Reddit

Date	Event	Description
January 15th, 2017 12:00:00 AM	Main Event	Expand this into a brief description of what happened and the impact. If multiple lines are necessary, add them here.

Total Amount Lost

The total amount lost has been estimated at $220,000 USD.

How much was lost and how was it calculated? If there are conflicting reports, which are accurate and where does the discrepancy lie?

Immediate Reactions

How did the various parties involved (firm, platform, management, and/or affected individual(s)) deal with the events? Were services shut down? Were announcements made? Were groups formed?

Ultimate Outcome

What was the end result? Was any investigation done? Were any individuals prosecuted? Was there a lawsuit? Was any tracing done?

Total Amount Recovered

There do not appear to have been any funds recovered in this case.

What funds were recovered? What funds were reimbursed for those affected users?

Ongoing Developments

What parts of this case are still remaining to be concluded?

Prevention Policies

All large transactions or new wallets should be tested first with a smaller value transaction.