User loses 70 bitcoins due to Bitcoin wallet exposure

On 4chan , a simple image-based bulletin board designed as a forum, an anonymous user claimed to have a seeded Electrum bitcoin wallet for his friend.

Electrum or Multibit is an important component required to support funds. Image source: Golden Finance

He then asked the community for methods to steal the wallet’s funds, which were equivalent to 70 Bitcoins.

The seed or wallet word to a Bitcoin wallet like Electrum or Multibit is an essential component necessary to back up the funds. If a user accidentally deletes the wallet information or if the computer is stolen, the user can find his wallet word or seed to recover the funds.

However, the Multibit development team strictly warns users not to expose their wallet’s words or seeds to the public.

The team said: “To recover your wallet and recover your Bitcoins, you must have the password of your wallet. With the password of your wallet, you can recover your Bitcoins. You must keep the password of your wallet safe because anyone who knows your wallet can steal your Bitcoins.”

In two simple steps, anyone with the seed or wallet can steal the funds of a Bitcoin wallet. The first step is to obtain the seed. Then, once the wallet backup folder is on the computer, using the seed, funds, notes, payment history, and payment exchange rates can all be stolen.

In a 4chan bulletin board discussion, an anonymous user explained to the community that he had discovered his friend’s Electrum wallet seed.

The user wrote: “I have a friend with a seeded Electrum wallet with 70+ Bitcoins. He left the wallet at my house while his girlfriend removed some stuff. Digging through it, I found a piece of paper that was clearly the seed. Given that he had shown me his Bitcoins on the Electrum wallet, I’m 99% sure that was the seed. Wrote it down and put it back where I found it.”

For localized Bitcoin wallets, the seed or wallet word is the most important security component that should be protected. At today's exchange rate, the negligent and irresponsible actions of Bitcoin wallet owners storing seed words in public places cost them at least $99,330 as of May 1, 2017. Anonymous users pointed out that they could have stored more funds in their wallets.

This unfortunate incident and the loss of 70 bitcoins should be seen as a reminder to the rest of the Bitcoin community to implement proper security measures and keep seed words safe.