Koldmass was an infamous hacker group formed in a small village in La Paz, Bolivia.
History[]
Koldmass was formed in 1979 and its first crime was hijacking KNTV and some other California TV stations, showing their phone number. Some people have dared to call it, gave out their personal information, and were taken. Some officials have came up with the theory that the hackers were actually poor, and that they stole homes from innocent people to get better places to live. This has yet to be proven.
In 1981, they opened up a small store in New York City selling bootleg Atari 2600 cartridges. The most popular of all of these was "Run," where the player goes through a scrolling map and cannot jump, but shoot at enemies. Whenever the player died, however, an image flashes on screen. The player has to reset the console to start over.
A woman reported her son playing "Run," and seeing a scary face as he progresses and resets the console over and over. Flashing backgrounds and sprites have given him his first ever seizure. Some reported the cartridge being stuck like superglue into their Atari, forcing them to play the game forever until there was a way to pull it out.
In 1996, they hacked and hijacked ABS-CBN and Studio 23 in Philippines, showing "IF YOU NEED FURTHER HELP THEN CALL THE NUMBER BELOW:" and their same phone number from the California hijacking incident was below. In 1997, they were detected as the hijackers of ABS-CBN, and all workers of Koldmass (except 1) escaped from Philippines and 1 was arrested.
In 1998, they returned to the crime industry and made fictional companies such as "Livin Home and Life" (disguising as house support) and "Upsidedown Center" (disgusing as a fun-and-games center in New Mexico). They had different phone numbers but all of them were Koldmass.
Upsidedown Center was based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in a large building with the big 3D-printed logo on front. It used single doors, however. When a person entered, they were greeted with spies in black masks that attempt kidnapping the unsuspecting customer. Sadly, only about 5 of their crimes have been reported on news.
In late 2003, Koldmass executives raided Universal Studios Hollywood, and it was the last straw. In mid-2004, they caused a fire and explosion in a Hilton hotel, and this crime was officially noticed by everyone. They were arrested and their weapons were confiscated, marking the end of the infamous Koldmass.
Phone Message[]
Some people remember an automated message as they called Koldmass back in 1979 during the hijacking incident.
Thank you for calling Koldmass. We are highly amused to get your call today. Please give out your name and location and I swear we will keep safe.
The caller foolishly gave out their personal information, and few of them were seen again.
Known Members[]
Felipe Bolaño[]
One of Koldmass' founders, born in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia in 1946 to a Mexican father and a Croatian mother. Following the arrest of the Koldmass members, he was granted asylum in Brazil. He died in 2013 in Rio de Janeiro from lung cancer.
Charles O'Sheehan[]
The leader of Koldmass' operations in English-speaking countries, he was born in Kirkwall, Orkney, Scotland and lived in Bolivia since he was a teen. After Koldmass ended, he was deported to Scotland by Bolivian authorities. O'Sheehan currently is serving time at HM Prison Castle Huntly in Longforgan, Perth and Kinross both for his time in Koldmass and for an unrelated crime.
Leo Pinochet[]
Another one of Koldmass' founders, born in 1948 in Bucharest, Romania to Bolivian parents. After Koldmass ended, he was imprisoned in San Pedro Prison in La Paz, where he is currently held. He runs a pizza parlor inside the prison, known for being a society within itself.
Víctor de Miñaur[]
Another founder of Koldmass, born in 1947 in Sucre, Bolivia. He was arrested by Bolivian police following Koldmass' end, and died in Palmasola prison in Santa Cruz in 2009 from a heart attack.
Fernando Domínguez[]
One of Koldmass' most feared hackers, he was born in 1957 in Sucre, Bolivia. He is credited with the California TV station hijackings and programmed the video games sold at Koldmass' NYC video game shop. Following the group's end, he was granted asylum in Laos. He currently lives in Vientiane, where he runs a computing business.
Alex Dizon[]
The strongest Koldmass member, born in 1961 in Quezon City, Philippines. He hijacked ABS-CBN and Studio 23 with Koldmass' phone number in 1999. When he caused another hijacking to GMA in 2002, he was arrested by Metro Manila Police and freed in 2015.
Julián Paz[]
One of Koldmass' executives, born in 1952 in Machalí, Chile. He was a Salvador Allende supporter, and was granted asylum in Bolivia along with his family after the start of Augusto Pinochet's military dictatorship. He was one of the spies who kidnapped people in the Upsidedown Center scheme and was one of the executives who raided Universal Studios Hollywood. Following Koldmass' end, he fled to his native Chile, but ended up fleeing to Peru due to an arrest warrant for him in that country. He died in 2017 in Huacachina from an sandboarding accident.
Patrick Johannesson[]
One of Koldmass' most feared members, he was born in 1958 in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, United States. He was responsible for most of Koldmass' kidnappings and was one of the executives who raided Universal Studios Hollywood. Following Koldmass' end, he was deported to the United States by Bolivian authorities, and currently resides on a waterfront property in Hampton Beach, New Hampshire.
Yoko Takabayashi[]
Born in Caracas, Venezuela to parents of Japanese origins, she was hired by Koldmass after founder Felipe Bolaño offered her 500 bolívares. She was imprisoned in Venezuela from 2005-2013.
Enrique "Thunder" Domínguez[]
Fernando Domínguez's younger brother, born in 1963 in Sucre, Bolivia. Only the surviving members of Koldmass knew his real name until 2018. In January 2018, his real name was revealed to be Enrique Domínguez after a old schoolbook of his was found in a abandoned quarry.