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].

TBD more details on Calsmokes.

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

At some point on or about September 13th, 2022, a bitcoin ATM was robbed. This was shared by Reddit user Calsmokes.

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].

Technical Details

The exact details of the theft are unclear. From the photo, it appears that the thief managed to break the locking mechanisms on the bitcoin ATM and proceeded to remove the cash contents of the machine. It is unclear if any alarms were triggered by the incident at the time, and if the thief made any additional attempts at further robbery.

Total Amount Lost

Given the nature of bitcoin, it is likely that all losses were in cash. It seems unlikely from the state of the machine that the thief would have been able to feed in any of their stolen money to "purchase" further bitcoin.

The total amount lost was never reported and is thus unknown.

Immediate Reactions

The incident was widely shared on both Reddit and Twitter, but achieved no mainstream media coverage.

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

Keeping a large amount of cash in one area and improperly secured allows for theft to occur. The risk level can be minimized by reducing the amount of cash transferred at one time, performing the transfer in a more secure location, conducting the transaction with more individuals present, and retaining more identifying information about the counterparty. Alternatives with lower risk of physical theft such as credit, debit, or eTransfer should also be considered.

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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