I'm not trying to make this a sad story, but I felt it was worth sharing for the larger crypto community to be aware of, and perhaps some words of advice as to what to do from here. I'll keep the story as short as I can.
I was recently in Peru for a few weeks traveling around on vacation. It was an amazing 2.5 weeks until the last 2 days. On Thursday, Nov 11th I decided to spend the last couple days of my trip exploring Miraflores district in Lima, Peru. Upon landing at the airport I got a taxi cab from the airport kiosk and started making my way to Miraflores. No more than 2 miles from the airport, in bumper-to-bumper traffic, I was on my iPhone (looking up restaurants in the area - Lima is a foodie paradise) with the window rolled down when all of the sudden ... snatch. Someone walked up behind me in traffic and stole my iPhone right out of my hands through the window.
This is when the nightmare scenario begins. I was initially annoyed just due to the fact my iPhone was stolen, and I assumed the perp was likely just going to try and sell it. Now I have to go through that whole mess from Peru, and get home without a phone etc. All of the sudden it hit me ... he grabbed my phone while I was on it, meaning if he was able to keep it unlocked he has access to my email, 2FA etc. By the time I had the taxi driver turn around and get back to the airport, approximately 30-45 mins had passed before I could get back into a wifi zone. Luckily I had my iPad (no data just wifi iPad), so I immediately reported my phone as stolen and FaceTimed a buddy to help me start closing accounts, that's when I saw it ... an email confirmation from Coinbase saying "transaction successful."
HE WAS IN MY CRYPTO ACCOUNTS, converting some of my holdings and transferring them to his address. Not just that, but as he was doing this he was deleting my email confirmations so I could not see what he was doing (even going into my trash folder and perm deleting them). Panic set it, but it was too late. Coinbase, Binance, and Trust wallet (primarily Trust wallet so I don't hold much on exchanges) all drained and sent to his address. $85,000 in holdings gone in 30 mins. He obviously knew what he was doing. This was no joe-schmo and he was likely working with someone else. I couldn't believe it - an absolute gut punch. I'm a relatively tech-savvy person (moreso than the avg person) and always implement security measures. I have a metamask as well that he luckily did not go for or get into, but he probably could have if he wanted. This guy (or multiple people) was a pro, he knew he only had so much time. Didn't go for my stocks or bank accounts, only crypto, and afterwards shut the phone down and likely threw it in a river. I've played the scenario out in my head a thousand times and it's obvious they stake out that specific area / targeting tourists in taxi's etc. A million things had to go right for them to pull this off as fast and efficiently as they did.
Additionally, just so everyone knows, he had my email and Google Authenticator 2FA (which were both obviously on my phone) so he was able to act as me.
I'm devastated. Years and years of saving and investing.
I'm not letting this take away from my crypto investing, I'm going to get back into it but this situation really took the wind out of my sails and drained me of most of my money. With that said, any method I can follow to try and recoup? Coinbase has been absolutely no help up to this point. Trust Wallet has been very slow to look at my case, and same with Binance US. Is there any other way of reporting this in hopes I can get at least some of my investment back? Any former Navy Seal mercenaries or drone ops for hire?
Any help would be much appreciated and I will answer any questions to provide further clarity if need be. Thanks, sers - can't do much but pick myself up and get back in the saddle.
TLDR - phone got stolen in Peru and worst case scenario happened. My wallets and accounts got drained. Use lots of passwords and don't stay logged in to accounts.
submitted by
/u/PhillipWhittmore
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