Over Christmas, while many people were celebrating the holidays, a young cryptocurrency miner was kidnapped from his own home in Russia, highlighting a worrying trend of violent crimes linked to the digital world.
In the crime that police classified as planned, three men disguised as police officers kidnapped the 23-year-old miner, who was surprised at his home, forced into a car and taken to an unknown location. The young man was brutally beaten for hours.
According to Russian media, the kidnappers demanded a ransom of 15 million rubles (about R$800,000) from their relatives, threatening to plant drugs in the victim’s home and hand her over to police if they did not receive payment.
Communication with family members was via Telegram, demonstrating a mix of traditional extortion methods with modern technologies.
Ransom demands and threats
According to investigation, men aged 36, 37 and 46, dressed in police uniform, drove to the home of the 23-year-old victim. When the victim left the house, the attackers caught him, put him in a car and fled the scene of the crime.
The kidnappers contacted the victim’s brother and not only threatened to demand a cash ransom but also threatened to frame the young man, a move that reveals the criminals’ brutality and desperation to obtain payment .
The case ended with the rescue of the victim, as authorities responded quickly and in less than two days, police tracked down and arrested the kidnappers, who already had a criminal history, including charges of theft and extortion.
The criminals now face serious charges under Russian law, with the possibility of up to 12 years in prison.
The kidnapping case casts a shadow over the cryptocurrency sector, which was previously seen as a space of financial innovation and freedom. The incident obviously underlines the vulnerability of market participants.
There has been an increase in cryptocurrency-related kidnappings in several parts of the world, with criminals targeting individuals who reveal on social media that they are cryptocurrency investors.
In many of these cases, criminals demand ransoms in Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies, taking advantage of the anonymity and difficulty of tracking such transactions.
The latest kidnapping case ended well: the young man was rescued and was able to spend New Year’s Eve with his family, but it is a reminder of the risks associated with the sector.
As cryptocurrencies grow in popularity and attract more and more investors, it is crucial that market participants remain vigilant against such threats.
Source: Live Coins
Barry Siefert is an accomplished journalist and author at The Nation View. He is known for his expertise in the field of cryptocurrency, and has written extensively on the topic. With a background in finance and economics, Barry has a deep understanding of the underlying technology and market forces that drive the crypto industry.
