LocalBitcoins is one of the most popular trading platforms around the world these days, which also means the company is attracting internet criminals. By the look of things, the platform’s database may have been hacked, and someone is claiming to sell usernames and passwords on the Bitcointalk forum.
LocalBitcoins May Be Hacked
UPDATE 2: The files are in fact fake, once paid for, a zip archive is provided with a password, one must send an email to [email protected] to get the password, to no surprise a password is never delivered and the files are rendered useless.
UPDATE: According to the official LocalBitcoins twitter account, the database hasn’t been leaked and users’ info is safe:
@themerklenews It has not. While updating your password etc is always a good idea, there is no hack/leak to warrant it.
— LocalBitcoins.com (@LocalBitcoins) April 24, 2016
Although LocalBitcoins does not act as an intermediary when it comes to the Bitcoin exchange portion of the site, they store a ton of user information on the website. Plenty of users all over the world are using this platform, and a database full of usernames and passwords could be worth a lot of money to some people.
Someone on BitcoinTalk is claiming to sell this database for 0.05 Bitcoin, although the thread has been removed from the board in the meantime. The seller claims this database contains details of over 700k users worldwide, of which most are active. However, all of the passwords are encrypted, and the lucky buyer will need to decrypt them himself.
At the time of writing, it remains uncertain as to whether or not there is any validity to these claims. Some users have already started to change their password, just as a precaution. However, given the low price this seller is looking for, it remains very doubtful there is any legitimacy to this claim right now.
Moreover, there is a question as to how useful this database can be. Using the accounts to empty balances may not be the best plan of action, as all of the activity will be logged on the platform. This could explain why the seller is looking for such a small amount, but it remains strange.
We will keep an eye on the situation and keep our readers updated.
Source: Bitcoin Futures Guide
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