Russian blogger loses $248,000 in Bitcoin heist in Bali ⋆ ZyCrypto

A Russian blogger expects big losses after a robbery incident in Bali that led to him losing almost a quarter of a million dollars in Bitcoin.

Earlier this week, Yuri Boytsov recounted the incident on Insta stories alleging that the perpetrators entered his Villa in Bali on February 25 under the guise of being police officers before demanding access to his crypto wallet.

“On February 25th in Bali, me and my girlfriend were completely attacked and robbed of more than $284,000,” the blogger wrote and shared CCTV footage showing the incident. According to him, the perpetrators were four, three Russian-speaking men and an Indonesian in police uniform.

Yuri, who is not shy about flaunting his extravagant lifestyle on social media, noted that the thugs came under the guise of investigating alleged fraud by the blogger before threatening him and his girlfriend. They then roughed them up before taking all their passports and documents and forcing him to transfer US$284,000 in bitcoin to a BTC address. After the crime, the blogger immediately went to the nearest police station and reported the incident. He also shared the CCTV footage, which later helped identify a suspect.

“On the morning of February 26, I took a video from a CCTV camera. Thanks to this, one of the perpetrators was arrested a few hours later at the airport. He was supposed to take the Bali-Dubai flight” he added.

However, despite the arrest and questioning, Yuri noted that the suspect was released, adding that he started receiving death threats from the perpetrators afterwards.

“A prayer to the distinguished Indonesian citizens. My life and the life of my wife are now under maximum threat in Bali. I am asking for your help and support. Help stop this chaos and help me” he continued.

Yuri’s case is not an isolated case. The rise of social media users showing off their crypto trading has led to a wave of crypto raids over the past four years. Last year, police in London described how thousands of victims lost their crypto holdings to crooks by being robbed or unwittingly revealing their log details before their phones were seized.

To stay safe, experts have advised crypto investors to keep their investments private and not keep a large amount of crypto in one wallet. Setting up a private space on one’s phone, which prevents a wallet from appearing on the main screen, is also a security measure.

Furthermore, having a multi-signature wallet like Trezor and Coldcard can help users protect their crypto. This means that before you transact with your wallet, other crypto keys (which may be held by a spouse or friend) must verify them, eliminating the fear of being robbed.