Fallout 4 pirate has R25, 775 worth of Bitcoins stolen

In Fallout 4, the wasteland is full of a number of dangers, especially for those who pirate the game.

One Fallout 4 pirate in particular, a gamer with a penchant for amassing Bitcoins, found that out the hard way.

The gamer in question was a Reddit user named arkanoah who tried to determine how his Bitcoins were stolen, via the Bitcoin subreddit.

Ironically, arkanoah had pirated Fallout 4 and has determined that malware contained within the pirated game’s files were most likely the cause.

We all know of Bitcoin, the digital currency. The currency is held in wallet files and all transactions are processed in the blockchain, a public master ledger of Bitcoin usage.

Arkanoah posted a link to when the dubious transaction happened on the blockchain, which indicated a 4.88 BTC ($1, 773, or around R25, 775) withdrawal from his Bitcoin wallet on the 11th of November.

Yes, the same day as the release of Fallout 4.

Image courtesy of Geek.

A coincidence? Well, the theft occurred on the same day arkanoah downloaded his pirated copy of Fallout 4, as you can see in the subreddit thread.

Pirated software, including game releases, are never truly safe and even Fallout 4 releases might contain some form of malware.

What most likely happened is that a cyber criminal gained access to arkanoah’s computer through the malware and then copied his Bitcoin wallet file.

Following this, the wallet file’s password was probably cracked and the criminal transferred all the coins from arkanoah’s Bitcoin wallet.

Due to the blockchain being public, you’re able to see where all the Bitcoins went.

After the cyberthief attacked another Bitcoin wallet, all the coins were split up and mixed with other coins. As a result, arkanoah’s Bitcoins are now untraceable.

To make matters worse, the blockchain is also anonymous, and if you manage your own Bitcoin wallet and it’s compromised you’re responsible.

Arkanoah learnt the hard way that pirating games doesn’t always pay off, especially when it’s an expensive lesson to the tune of R25, 775.

He should have just purchased Fallout 4 legally, he could clearly afford it.

What would you have done if you were in this situation?