A 24-year-old Norwegian, Heikki Bjørklund Plato has been killed after selling his Bitcoins, Oslo police have reported. While the details are fuzzy, it is said the victim was stabbed more than 20 times but the amount of cash stolen remain unknown. As reported by TV2, police said they combed the apartment and found some cash. However, it is unclear if the suspect stole some from the victim before escaping.
In response, police officials in Oslo have launched a nationwide manhunt publishing the identity of the suspect after surveillance cameras captured him at Oslo’s Skøyen train station one hour after police was called into the apartment where the body of the 24-year-old was found.
This man is wanted for questioning regarding the murder of a 24 year old bitcoin holder in Oslo, Norway last week. https://t.co/HWhoIaiu3m pic.twitter.com/8IZtAn2eJk
— Jameson Lopp (@lopp) October 21, 2018
Police said the man in question is central to the investigation and was seen around the vicinity of the murder area where coincidentally, a robbery had been reported.
Securely Store your Bitcoins
While this is tragic, it goes on to show how thieves are also evolving and perhaps monitoring your crypto related activities. Remember, cryptocurrencies are not like your ordinary fiat. Everything is digital and owners are fully responsible for their safety. If you are reckless and not observant enough, a magic moment will happen and you end up losing a fortune.
This responsibility comes with great power and if you truly desire to be part of the future, then caution is important. To prevent unnecessary losses or tragic moments as above, we shall highlight different ways of staying safe even if Bitcoin prices continue to maintain the same tags.
First, don’t show off, hint or talk about crypto around people you don’t trust. Remember, your Bitcoins may be worth nothing now and you may end up being a target if prices explode to $250,000 apiece.
Don't show off your crypto. Don't talk about your crypto. Don't hint at your crypto. You may have nothing worth stealing today, but it may be worth a lot in the future, and bad people will remember you. https://t.co/HoZPN36HCZ
— galgitron (don't ask for predictions) (@galgitron) October 21, 2018
Secondly, don’t give anyone your private keys. This is the main access to your virtual currency. To that end we recommend staying away from exchanges that control your private keys. Also avoid keeping funds at hot wallets. Hackers are having a field day. Instead, use a cold storage. Through this method, you can keep your coins on a bootable USB drive. Alternatively, you can use a paper wallet or an offline hardware wallet.
Another precautionary step is to subscribe to a notification service. They are perfect especially after you create a watch only wallet for this service. You can use MyETH.io with Webhooks to monitor and notify you on any transaction once it occurs in the mempool.
