Walnut Creek California Bitcoin ATM Robbery

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Walnut Creek Bitcoin ATM

A bitcoin ATM robbery in Walnut Creek, California, United States was shared on Reddit by California resident and Reddit user "Calsmokes".

About Walnut Creek

Walnut Creek is a city located in Contra Costa County, California, in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, about 16 miles (26 kilometers) east of the city of Oakland. The total population was only 70,127 as of the 2020 census, Walnut Creek serves as a vibrant hub for its neighboring cities because of its location at the junction of the highways from Sacramento and San Jose (I-680) and San Francisco/Oakland (SR-24), and its accessibility by BART.[1] Its active downtown neighborhood features hundred-year-old buildings and extensive high-end retail establishments. The city shares its borders with Clayton, Lafayette, Alamo, Pleasant Hill, and Concord[2].

About Calsmokes

Calsmokes is a regular bitcoin buyer[3] who spends a significant amount of time in California[4][5].

"Bitcoin ATM broken into and robbed. Walnut Creek, California."

"In Walnut Creek, Ca., a Bitcoin ATM was broken into by robbers who apparently have no clue how Bitcoin works."

This exchange or platform is based in United States, or the incident targeted people primarily in United States.

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

Walnut Creek has a high crime rate, 32.96 per 1,000 residents, which is much higher than the California average of 23.47 per 1,000 residents, and the United States national average of 19 per 1,000 residents[6]. More than 88% of communities within California have a lower crime rate than Walnut Creek[6]. The majority of the crime in Walnut Creek is property crime, with violent crime making up a much smaller proportion[6].

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 - Walnut Creek California Bitcoin ATM Robbery
Date Event Description
September 13th, 2022 11:24:55 AM MDT Reddit Post An image of a broken ATM is posted to Reddit along with the caption "Crazy.... Just got robbed"[4].
September 13th, 2022 11:58:00 AM MDT Twitter Bot Repost The Reddit post is shared by Twitter bot storew1re on Twitter[7].
September 13th, 2022 12:47:00 PM MDT Bitcoin EDU Retweeted The Twitter account Bitcoin Edu tweeted the same image and thread title[8].
September 13th, 2022 1:05:00 PM MDT Bitcoin Fan Tweet The btc_fan account shares the same thread on Twitter[9].
September 13th, 2022 1:22:00 PM MDT Asia Bitcoin Tweet The asia_bitcoin account shares a tweet with the thread included[10].
September 13th, 2022 1:49:00 PM MDT Shared on Twitter The Reddit post is shared on Twitter by user 0xupup[11].
September 13th, 2022 2:31:00 PM MDT Shared By Eldon Sarte The Reddit post image is shared on Twitter by user Eldon Sarte[12].
September 13th, 2022 2:39:00 PM MDT Shared By VirtualC4T The same image is shared by Twitter user VirtualC4t[13].
February 24th, 2023 1:43:07 PM MST Smashed Car Window Calsmokes posts another image on Reddit, of a smashed car window in nearby Oakland, California[5].

Total Amount Lost

The total amount lost is unknown.

Immediate Reactions

The incident was shared on both Reddit and Twitter.

Reactions On Reddit

The OP was widely criticized for their apparent lack of understanding of the basics of ATMs[14][15][16].

more likely OP doesn’t understand how a Bitcoin ATM works

Reposting On Twitter

The Reddit thread and related image was widely circulated on Twitter[8][9][10][11][12][13].

Ultimate Outcome

No further information is known about what happened in this case.

Total Amount Recovered

It is unclear whether there have been any funds recovered in this case.

Ongoing Developments

It is unclear if there is a remaining investigation into the theft.

Individual Prevention Policies

This case does not appear to have resulted in a loss to any individual.

For the full list of how to protect your funds as an individual, check our Prevention Policies for Individuals guide.

Platform Prevention Policies

Policies for platforms to take to prevent this situation have not yet been selected in this case.

For the full list of how to protect your funds as a financial service, check our Prevention Policies for Platforms guide.

Regulatory Prevention Policies

Physical theft is best dealt with through traditional means. The rate of occurrence of physical theft can be reduced through providing effective exchange platforms and better education for individuals.

For the full list of regulatory policies that can prevent loss, check our Prevention Policies for Regulators guide.

References

  1. ↑ Template:Cite web
  2. ↑ Walnut Creek, California - Wikipedia (Apr 4, 2023)
  3. ↑ Calsmokes - "I buy every day no matter what so…." - Reddit (Apr 4, 2023)
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Bitcoin ATM broken into and robbed. Walnut Creek, California... - Reddit (Sep 13, 2022)
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Middle of the day. Middle of downtown. In front of Schwabb building. Nothing in the car. People suck. :( - Reddit (Apr 4, 2023)
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Walnut Creek, CA Crime Rates and Statistics - NeighborhoodScout (Apr 4, 2023)
  7. ↑ storew1re - "Bitcoin ATM broken into and robbed. Walnut Creek, California." - Twitter (Apr 3, 2023)
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 BitcoinEdu - "Bitcoin ATM broken into and robbed. Walnut Creek, California. The criminals obviously don’t understand" - Twitter (Apr 3, 2023)
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 btc_fan - "Bitcoin ATM broken into and robbed. Walnut Creek, California. The criminals obviously don’t understand how bitcoin works." - Twitter (Apr 3, 2023)
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 asia_bitcoin - "Bitcoin ATM broken into and robbed. Walnut Creek, California. The criminals obviously don’t understand how bitcoin works." - Twitter (Apr 3, 2023)
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 0xupup - "I guess the robbers don't really get it" - Twitter (Apr 3, 2023)
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 eldonsarte - "In Walnut Creek, Ca., a Bitcoin ATM was broken into by robbers who apparently have no clue" - Twitter (Apr 3, 2023)
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 virtualc4t - "#Bitcoin ATM robbed?" - Twitter (Apr 3, 2023)
  14. ↑ petertherussian - "more likely OP doesn’t understand how a Bitcoin ATM works" - Reddit (Jun 5, 2023)
  15. ↑ maniacmuns - "It takes cash..." - Reddit (Jun 5, 2023)
  16. ↑ misunderstoodR - "You put cash inside lmao" - Reddit (Jun 5, 2023)
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