Bitcoin thieves stole $1.1B using fake bird noises: Now Malaysia hunts heat signatures from the sky

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• 5, 2025 at 8:35 pm UTC 5 min read Updated: Dec.
• 5, 2025 at 3:14 pm UTC Share Cover art/illustration via CryptoSlate.
• Image includes combined content which may include AI-generated content.
• In Malaysia’s illegal Bitcoin (BTC) mining hotspots, the hunt begins in the sky. Drones buzz over rows of shops and abandoned houses, sweeping for pockets of unexpected heat, which is the thermal signature of machines that shouldn’t be running. On the ground, police carry handheld sensors that sniff out irregular power use.
• Sometimes the pursuit is more low-tech: residents call in with complaints of strange bird noises, only for officers to discover nature sounds being used to mask the roar of machinery behind closed doors. The surveillance net exists because the scale of the problem demands it.