--- title: "Teen Hacker Arrested for Stealing $36 Million in Cryptocurrency" description: "A Canadian teenager was arrested after stealing roughly $36.5 million worth of cryptocurrency from just one individual based in the US." date: "2021-11-19" modified: "2021-11-19" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/teen-hacker-arrested-stealing-cryptocurrency" categories: - "Blockchain" - "Cryptocurrency" - "Future Society" tags: - "cryptocurrencies" - "cryptocurrency exchanges" - "the digest" --- # Teen Hacker Arrested for Stealing $36 Million in Cryptocurrency ![A Canadian teenager was arrested after stealing roughly $36.5 million worth of cryptocurrency from just one individual based in the US.]() *\Image: Getty Images\* ## Big Heist A Canadian teenager [was arrested]() this week after allegedly stealing roughly $36.5 million worth of cryptocurrency from just one individual based in the US. It's yet another instance of a cryptocurrency-related theft, showing that owning a fortune in crypto can make you a surprisingly easy target. According to police, it's "currently the biggest cryptocurrency theft reported from one person." Last year, the Hamilton Police Service teamed up with the FBI and the US Secret Service to investigate the theft. According to a police statement, the victim was the target of a "SIM swap attack," which allowed the hacker to intercept two-factor authentication requests and gain access to the cache of coins. "The amount, of course, is very surprising," Hamilton Police Service detective Kenneth Kirkpatrick [told the *CBC*](). "That's a large amount of money, and it's a large amount of money in anybody's opinion." ## Buying Usernames Law enforcement managed to catch the alleged perp after they bought a highly valuable online gaming username using some of the money. After the arrest was made, police seized more than $5.5 million in cryptocurrencies. Cryptocurrency exchanges in particular have frequently become the targets of crypto heists — and there's often no recourse. That's because the exchanges, unlike conventional banks, can't just reverse a charge. "There's no regulation," University of Ottawa computer science professor Guy-Vincent Jourdan told the *CBC*. "There's no backup. There's no guarantee of anything." **READ MORE:** [Hamilton youth charged after $46M in cryptocurrency stolen from U.S. resident]() \[*CBC*\] **More on crypto:** *[The Staples Center Will Be Renamed the “Crypto.com Arena” Because We Are Condemned to Eternal Damnation]()\\* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()