Bancar Hack Theft
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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.
This exchange or platform is based in Venezuela, or the incident targeted people primarily in Venezuela. [1][2][3][4][5][6]
About Bancar Exchange
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."
This exchange or platform is based in Venezuela, or the incident targeted people primarily in Venezuela.
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.
| Date | Event | Description |
|---|---|---|
| November 26th, 2020 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 $1,900,000 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
For the best security, funds should be stored in offline multi-signature wallets requiring signatures from multiple trusted and trained individuals.
References
- ↑ No Title (Aug 2, 2021)
- ↑ Venezuela Arrests Suspects in $2 Million Bitcoin Heist - Decrypt (Aug 2, 2021)
- ↑ Venezuelan hackers who stole $1.9M in BTC arrested - CoinGeek (Sep 1, 2021)
- ↑ Bancar – Casa de intercambio de criptoactivos (Sep 1, 2021)
- ↑ Bancar Exchange | Casa de Cambio de Criptoactivos (Sep 1, 2021)
- ↑ Conócenos – Bancar (Sep 1, 2021)