Crypto’s Solidarity: Lost 12 BTC In Mouse-Click Mistake, And Got $6500 In Donations From The Community

On June 10th, the host of the Protocol Podcast, Eric Savics, lost all of his Bitcoin savings in a tragic mistake.

After asking the community for help in any possible way of retrieving his holdings, he also did a plea to whoever took his BTC to return at least some of it, leaving his wallet address in the thread.

What followed was a humbling example of the community’s solidarity.

Podcast Owner Loses His BTC To a Phishing Scam

Eric Savics shared his story on how he recently lost his 12 BTC – a position he claims has been building for more than seven years and planned to use it to buy an apartment. At the time the scam took place, the bitcoins were worth just shy of $120,000.

Apparently, he fell victim to a fake Keep Key extension for Google Chrome, and he entered his recovery phrase in it, giving the hackers access to his holdings.

After posting what happened to him on Twitter, many prominent cryptocurrency proponents responded, including the CEO of Binance, Changpeng Zhao, who said that he “will ask the team to put that receiving address in the blacklist.”

Savics then recorded a video plea, asking those who stole his BTC to return at least some of it, providing his Bitcoin wallet address. And this is where the community showed there powerful yet touching solidarity.

1/ On June 10th, I had all my Bitcoin stolen in a hardware wallet phishing scam.

I built up my position over 7 years. I was planning on using it to buy an apartment…

I know whoever has my BTC will likely never see this video.

None the less below is my plea: pic.twitter.com/7U56yHbSU2

— ericsavics (@ericsavics1) June 12, 2020

Cryptocurrency Community Donates $6,500 In 24 Hours

A closer look at Savics’ BTC address reveals that more than 92 incoming transactions were carried out in about 24 hours after sharing his plea on Twitter.

At the time of this writing, the address contains about 0.7 BTC worth a little over $6,500. The generosity of the community is nothing short of humbling.

Savics has since acknowledged his mistake and took full responsibility for downloading the fake Keep Key plugin and inserting his recovery phrase to it.

He also said that he won’t be touching the donated BTC and will send it back if he manages to recover the stolen funds.

“If you have sent me donations, please DM me your address and contact info. Pls know that I plan to never spend or convert those donations, and if the universe puts my BTC back in my wallet, I want to return all the donations to the folks that sent them to me.”

Also, he informed that a “very reputable forensics firm has reached out” and has offered their help.

Yet, it’s very important to be aware of the risks that cryptocurrency storage carries. Take a look at these absolutely imperative security tips before storing your crypto and make sure to follow them to prevent what happened to Eric Savics from happening to you.