This man hid $400 million in a fishing rod. Then it vanished

This man hid $400 million in a fishing rod. Then it vanished

From Smashing Security by Graham Cluley

April 1, 2026 · 46 min · Episode 461

About this episode

The episode discusses a mysterious case involving a lost fishing rod containing Bitcoin access codes and a significant data breach at Ajax Football Club.

A cannabis-growing, beekeeping, gyrocopter-flying Irishman invested his drug money in Bitcoin back in 2011 - and now sits on a fortune worth $400 million. There's just one small problem: the access codes were tucked inside his fishing rod case, which has mysteriously vanished. Or has it? Because this week, one of his frozen wallets suddenly woke up and moved $35 million - and someone had to identify themselves to do it. Meanwhile, Ajax Football Club scores a spectacular cyber own-goal, as a data breach that the club claimed affected "a few hundred" fans turns out to may have exposed the personal details of 300,000 supporters - along with the ability to steal match tickets and quietly remove people from the stadium ban list. All this and much more in episode 461 of the "Smashing Security" podcast with cybersecurity expert and keynote speaker Graham Cluley, joined this week by special guest journalist Danny Palmer. EPISODE LINKS: Iran-linked hackers breach FBI director's personal email, publish photos and documents - Reuters. Windows PCs crash three times as often as Macs, report says - TechSpot. Wife used CCTV to steal $176M of husband’s crypto, UK court told - Coin Telegraph…

People in this episode

Host: Graham Cluley

Guest: Danny Palmer

Topics covered

  • cryptocurrency
  • data breach
  • cybersecurity
  • Bitcoin
  • investments
  • hacking
  • sports

Keywords

  • Bitcoin
  • data breach
  • Ajax Football Club
  • cryptocurrency
  • Graham Cluley
  • Danny Palmer
  • cybersecurity
  • investments
  • hacking

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Ajax Football Club, Reuters, TechSpot, Coin Telegraph, Irish Times, Arkham, Cybernews

Places: Ireland, FBI

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