If there’s anything that the entire crypto market should be wary of, it is the fact that there is a chance that you could lose your funds in an instant considering the highly volatile nature of cryptocurrencies. In fact, in just a few weeks, we’ve seen Bitcoin slip from $8,500 to below $6,000. Because of its highly speculative nature, these wild swings should be expected by anyone who plans on dabbling with cryptos.
However, this isn’t the only way you can lose your crypto funds. Unfortunately, you can become a victim of hackers. All over the world, there have been recorded incidences of millions of dollars being wiped out from different accounts because of hacking incidences. Some are clearly the negligence of crypto exchanges. In fact, Japanese regulators were forced to make the necessary regulatory changes because of the vulnerability of crypto exchanges against hackers. The same is true in South Korea.
Lawsuit Against AT&T
A US investor decided to file a $224 million lawsuit against AT&T recently. According to the complaint, the US investor is accusing the telecommunications company of negligence. And because of this, the California resident lost around $24 million worth of digital currency.
The 69-page complaint was filed in a US District Court in Los Angeles. According to Michael Terpin, he claimed that “AT&T’s willing cooperation with the hacker, gross negligence, violation of its statutory duties, and failure to adhere to its commitments in its Privacy Policy”, losing almost $24 million-worth of cryptocurrency in the process.
Terpin was using AT&T when the hacking incident happened on his mobile phone’s account. Within seven months, Terpin experienced hacking twice.
The first hack, according to Terpin, was an impostor was able to acquire his phone number using an insider. Here, the hacker was allegedly able to acquire information without showing identification. It was the same phone number that was later used in order to get access to Terpin’s accounts.
The complaint mentioned that “What AT&T did was like a hotel giving a thief with a fake ID a room key and key to the room safe to steal jewelry in the safe from the rightful owner”. AT&T emailed a statement saying that “we dispute these allegations and look forward to presenting our case in court”.
Co-Founder of BitAngels
Terpin is the co-founder of BitAngels which is an angel group for Bitcoin investors. It is also a digital currency fund. According to the complaint, BitAngels/Dapps Fund is seeking $200 million in punitive damages not to mention $24 million of compensatory damages coming from the telecommunications company.
Hacking is a major concern for the entire crypto industry considering that funds aren’t safe. And because it still lacks regulations within the niche, these incidences are still common. And for this reason, Japan imposed stricter rules and regulations when it comes to allowing crypto exchanges to operate within the country. Because of the rules and regulations, even Kraken chose to operate outside Japan.
Is AT&T to blame in this particular situation? Or should crypto investors be more careful whenever they dabble in cryptocurrencies?
