[neRok]

> Yeah - cuz no one hacked banks, cut fraudulent POs, or any of the other scams before crypto.

OP was probably referring to attacks such as ransomware, because if you don't have an anonymous way to receive payment, then there is less incentive to do the crime in the first place.

[mastax]

The earliest ransomware allowed using pre-paid cash cards to pay the ransom.

It seems that all (?) of them have moved to crypto only, though. Take that as you will.

[mech422]

yeah - the phone scammers seem to like gift cards...

[mech422]

Yeah - I know...I'm just pointing out that's not the only type of cybercrime. High value/High dollar hacks happened before crypto, and they'll happen after crypto...

Probably the biggest factor in the recent ransomware attacks has been the 'hacking as a service' sites that have been popping up for everything from botnets to ransomware. You can literally sign up with services that provide all the code and infrastructure required!

edit: There wasn't really less incentive, there was just different types of hacking. like hacking a companies accounting system and creating a vendor account for yourself..so you got paid, automatically every month.