- Hundreds of El Salvadorans say that hackers opened their Chivo Wallets.
- The hackers reportedly use the users’ ID numbers.
- Hackers did this to claim the $30 BTC incentive from Bukele’s government.
With El Salvador’s adoption of Bitcoin (BTC) as a legal tender, others took this as an opportunity to perform fraudulent acts. According to reports, hackers have stolen the identities of hundreds of El Salvadorans. These hackers, moreover, used people’s identities to claim the $30 BTC incentive from Bukele’s government.
One citizen, Cynthia Gutierrez, reiterated her ill experience to reporters. According to Gutierrez, at first, she refused to download Chivo — El Salvador’s digital wallet developed by its government. She then decided to open the app on October 16th, after knowing that hackers have already victimized her fellow El Salvadorans. The hackers reportedly activated wallets associated with the 9-digit numbers on their identity cards, known as DUI (for its acronym in Spanish).
Gutierrez commented, “This was growing more and more, reaching into my close circle.” Furthermore, when Gutierrez entered her details, the app prompted that her document number was already associated with a wallet.
In fact, Gutierrez’s case is only one among the hundreds of El Salvadorans who experienced the same thing. Between October 14 – 19, Cristosal, a human rights organization in the country, has already received more than 700 notifications reporting identity theft on the Chivo App.
Chivo’s official website, however, states that opening an account requires scanning the DUI front and back, as well as facial recognition. Still, several El Salvadorans reported evidence that somehow, their system is flawed.
Some citizens called Chivo’s hotline (192) like Gabriela Sosa. Sosa narrated, “I kept calling for several days until they told me I had to go to a Chivo point.” She even went to Chivo’s help center and her account, as well as her money, was only recovered after a long discussion and waiting.
The victims emphasized that they are not against Bukele’s government or his decision to legalize Bitcoin (BTC). Rather, they just wanted to raise awareness that such fraudulent acts occur presently.
Thankfully, there are non-government organizations like Cristosal and Acción Ciudadana who are trying their best to help solve this matter.
For now, the public is yet to see how El Salvador will bring resolution to this challenge. Surely, in no time, Bukele’s government will propose a sturdy solution for it soon enough and ease its citizen’s worries and fears.