When Gutierrez entered her personal information, a screen popped up saying her document number was already associated with a wallet.
14, Cristosal, a human rights organization in El Salvador, received 755 notifications of Salvadorans reporting identity theft with their Chivo Wallets, Rina Montti, the group’s director of human rights research, told CoinDesk.
With the adoption of bitcoin, Bukele positioned his Central American country at the center of a global discussion about the future of money.
In August, polls showed that 65% to 70% of Salvadorans opposed the adoption of bitcoin, and several protest marches took place in the streets.
According to Chivo’s official website, opening an account requires scanning the DUI front and back, and then performing facial recognition to check the registrant’s identity.
When Adam Flores, a Salvadoran YouTuber who runs the channel La Gatada SV, heard about the hacks, he remembered that his grandmother had not opened her Chivo Wallet and decided to use the case as a test.
According to Montti, of Cristosal, most of the 700 Salvadorans who reported identity theft asked acquaintances to try to transfer money through Chivo by putting their DUI numbers in the recipient field.
Worried about impersonation, Ramón Esquivel asked an acquaintance to send money to a wallet with his DUI on Oct.
“With anger, I realized that they had used my DUI,” Esquivel told CoinDesk, adding that after the episode he filed a complaint in the attorney general’s office.
“I kept calling for several days until they told me I had to go to a Chivo point,” Sosa told CoinDesk.
He tried, then, to open his account but a notification said his DUI had already been registered.
Laura Nathalie Hernández, a tech lawyer at the Salvadoran firm Legal Novis, has been receiving requests for help from victims of identity theft regarding their Chivo Wallets.
According to Hernández, the entity that manages the application should be the first place to turn to.
According to Chivo’s terms and conditions, the authorization of an account is conditioned on a know-your-customer process carried out by CHIVO S.A.
The wallet adds that the verification services will be provided by the company directly and/or through a third party contracted by the company for such purpose.
Gutierrez has not yet recouped her money.
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