"Here's pictures of five guys."
I laid them on the table like a dealer at a casino slapping down cards. I showed her the men, one at a time. "What do you see?"
She looked surprised. "Are those Polaroids?"
"Always film. Never digital."
That's how it's done.
"We're gonna rob them all," I said. "And they'll never know who did it. They won't even know how it happened."
I robbed at least two hundred men. I'm responsible for the deaths of fourteen that I know of. Surely more.
"That's what the story's about. Thievin'. Wrenchin'. Droppin'."
But this is not a story.
It is a confession.
"Tell my sister her next one's on me."
Five Dollar Wrench is not an instruction manual. It is a cautionary tale about the dangers of social engineering and misplaced trust.
Bitcoin owners have been robbed by friends and lovers, even family. Others have also been robbed by strangers, sometimes through violence.
These crimes are preventable.
Owning Bitcoin means being your own bank.
Securing your Bitcoin is your job.
The easiest place to begin?
Secrecy.
If nobody knows you own Bitcoin, nobody knows to look for it.
Secrecy is your first line of defense against social engineering attacks.
Sincerely,
Andrew Ellison
Editor