Identity thieves steal ID information from El Salvador’s Chivo wallet

El Salvador identity thieves began stealing personal information from the country’s Chivo bitcoin wallets. We can find out more about it in today’s bitcoin news.

User Cynthia Gutierrez didn’t want to download the wallet at first, but when she discovered that an identity thief was launching a wallet with someone’s personal information, she downloaded the wallet to test it. She entered her personal details, but a screen soon showed that her document number was already in the system and linked to a wallet. She took a screenshot and asked for help fearing that her data would be used for nefarious purposes. Her case is one of hundreds that Salvadorans have reflected on social media and with local authorities since Bitcoin was introduced as legal tender and Chivo began using it.

A human rights organization in El Salvador, Cristosal, received 755 notifications from people reporting identity theft using Chivo wallets, the organization’s director, Rina Montti, said. In most cases, affected users tried to activate the wallet after learning that many people had reported their identity as stolen in order to download and use the wallet. The hackers got an incentive after Chairman Nayib Bukele said that anyone who downloads the wallet will receive $ 30 worth of bitcoin, which will be provided by the president’s government.

Bukele has put its Central American country at the center of attention for the future of the currency and many have criticized its decision to make Bitcoin legal tender in the country. The president denied that the adoption of BTC was compulsory, but the people of El Salvador were puzzled by the discrepancy between what the president said and what the law then required. Surveys show that 65 to 70% of people are against the introduction of Bitcoin and that there are protest marches on the streets. However, over 2 million people downloaded the wallet as part of an active agenda that involves mining BTC using volcanic energy.

According to Chivo’s official website, opening an account requires entering a front and back DUI number and then facial recognition to verify the registrant’s identity. However, many argue that this system has flaws. When Adam Flores, a Salvadoran Youtuber heard about the hack, he remembered that his grandmother hadn’t opened his wallet, so he decided to check it out. Even though he only had a copy of their DUI, he tried and the app was accepted as valid. Flores was then asked for live facial recognition, but he snapped a poster photo of Sarah Connor from Terminator. The wallet then greeted his grandmother and released $ 30.