# Last edited on 2014-08-11 21:37:33 by stolfilocal
# NOT POSTED

[quote author=Moria843 link=topic=178336.msg8303774#msg8303774 date=1407800877]
Saw a blurp scroll by that feds just announced, among other warnings about bitcoin, that "bitcoin is a target for hackers" - good thing credit cards not a target ???
[/quote]
Not a laughing matter.  As a percentage of use, there is lready far more theft of bitcoins than of credit cards.

Credit card fraud is about $6 billion/year worldwide, over a total card payment volume of 7 trillion/year; that is less than 0.1%. Whereas the MtGOX theft alone was something like 5% of all the existing bitcoin money supply, and maybe greater than the total e-payments using bitcoin in the last 12 months.

Common thieves now own at least 5% of all the bitcoins in existence, perhaps more.  Note, that is not "5% of all bitcoins have been through the hands of thieves", it is "5% of all bicoins are NOW in possession of common thieves." 

Bitcoin has one big security advantage over credit cards and bank transfers, namely the private keys are not stored in a central location, and not revealed to merchants.  But they have also several big disadvantages.  For one thing, the thief can get possession of all the victim's coins as soon his virus/trojan captures the keys; with no risk to himself, independently of where he is in the world, and potentially from thousands of victims at the same time.  Whereas, in order to "monetize" a stolen credit card code or bank password, the thief currently must first receive that information, then expose himsellf physically in some way. Moreover, there is no big company with a financial interest in preventing bitcoin theft: each victim is on his own, and may not even be able to prove to the police that he was the owner of those coins, orthat they were actually stolen.  Finally, there is no way to block or seize any stolen bitcoins.  All these "features" must make bitcoin theft much more attractive to criminals than credit card theft, and things will get worse if adoption grows.