Ek choti si layover London mein, Jacob Irwin-Cline ke liye kabhi na bhoolne wali nightmare ban gayi. Sirf ek raat mein, us ne apni poori crypto savings kho di — sab kuch hua ek jhooti Uber ride, ek shuba wala cigarette, aur ek pal ki ghalti se.
30 saal ka developer aur Bitcoin ka pehla investor, Roxy nightclub, Soho gaya drinks ke liye. Raat ke end mein hostel lautne ke liye Uber bulayi. Bahar ek driver ne naam le kar usay greet kiya — sab theek laga. Lekin gari woh nahi thi jo app mein dikh rahi thi. Phir bhi woh baith gaya.
🚬 Ek Cigarette Jo Hazaaron Ka Nuqsan Bana
Driver ne usay cigarette offer ki. Pehle mana kiya, lekin phir le li. Yeh cigarette shayad scopolamine se laced thi — ek dangerous sedative jise “zombie drug” kehte hain.
Jacob ko yaad hai ke woh hosh mein aata jaata raha jab driver ne uska phone manga “directions check karne ke liye.” Ghoomti halat mein, us ne phone aur access codes de diye. Jab tak samajh aaya, sab kuch chala gaya tha.
Jab woh hosh mein aaya, woh London ke outskirts mein tha. Phone aur laptop pura wipe ho chuka tha. Ek anjaan shakhs ne usay taxi mein hostel bhej diya.
“Unhon ne meri puri life ka kaam utha liya,” Jacob ne kaha.
💸 Crypto Gaya, Recovery Mushkil Hai
Authorities ne confirm kiya ke attacker ne Revolut aur wallet apps ke zariye access hasil kiya. Total nuqsan? $72,000 XRP, $50,000 Bitcoin, aur kuch choti altcoins — total $123,000.
Jacob kehta hai woh specially target nahi hua — bas bad luck thi. Lekin method bilkul “key attack” jesa tha: na hacking, sirf social engineering aur physical force.
“Na insurance, aur zyada crypto cold wallets mein thi — wapas milna mushkil hai,” Jacob ne kaha.
Ab woh FBI ke virtual assets unit ke sath kaam kar raha hai. Us ne Bitcoin mein school ke dino mein invest karna shuru kiya tha — jab price $1,000 se neeche tha.
📉 Crypto Market Update: Bitcoin aur XRP Mazboot
Likhtay waqt, Bitcoin ka rate kareeb $106,576 hai, market cap $2.11 trillion ke aas paas. January 2025 mein all-time high $109,000 tak gaya tha.
XRP, Ripple ki SEC ke sath legal win ke baad, ab $2.34 ke kareeb trade kar raha hai.
💬 London ka yeh waqia yeh dikhata hai ke crypto mein sirf tech security nahi, balkay rozmarrah ki hoshyari bhi zaroori hai. Ek ghalti, aur sab kuch chala ja sakta hai.