Canadian Crypto Investor Forced into Hiding After Failed Bitcoin Theft. What Happened?
Experienced cryptocurrency users recommend not to tell strangers about their connection to the world of coins. After all, the value of digital assets usually rises sharply during bull runs, which is why their holder may end up in the sights of robbers. Unfortunately, attempts to steal crypto by kidnapping owners are already happening, which means investors should be careful.
How money is stolen from crypto wallets
Note that coins can also be lost remotely. The most high-profile case of this kind was the loss of 10 bitcoins worth $1 million and an NFT collection worth $1.5 million at the end of 2024.
The peculiarity of the case was that the investor stored private keys to cryptocurrency addresses using a hardware wallet Ledger Nano S. In theory, he did everything correctly, because such devices isolate important combinations and do not reveal them on the Internet, thanks to which hackers are unable to empty the wallet of a potential victim.
Ledger Nano S Hardware Wallet
However, the user still lost a huge stock of crypto assets. It turned out that in February 2022, he signed a malicious transaction that gave scammers access to his address. And although the hackers were in no hurry to steal for some unknown reason, they eventually got their hands on coins and unique tokens worth 2.5 million.
Unfortunately, some people are willing to resort to physical violence in real life in order to get their hands on someone else’s bitcoins.
Why You Shouldn’t Talk About Your Cryptocurrencies
A Canadian resident who also moderates a local cryptocurrency forum told about the unpleasant situation. He claims that he is forced to rent multiple apartments through Airbnb and constantly change his place of residence to avoid being robbed.
The man moves with his family, as its members are also in danger. The reason for the escape was an unsuccessful attempt to kidnap crypto investors in order to force the victim to send his bitcoins to the scammers’ addresses.
Cryptocurrency theft
The investor shared details of what was happening with journalists from La Presse. According to him, the potential kidnappers were obviously preparing to use violence before he and his family were able to leave their place of residence.
Here’s a retort on the matter from Cointelegraph .
The guys had tools to torture me. They prepared a tarp, 2 feet by 2 feet, with a hole in the middle and green hoses around it. With this construction, they were going to cut off my limb and stop the bleeding. This is an extreme level of violence.
The man and his family repeatedly changed their homes using the Airbnb service. At the same time, the police have already concluded that the criminals’ motive was the desire to steal the potential victim’s digital assets. Here is another quote on the situation.
The criminals must have seen the posts on the Facebook page I moderated for years. They thought I had 2.5 million bitcoins. That’s not true at all, because I’m just an ordinary guy who has maybe 10 thousand dollars.
NFT Token Theft
Apparently, the criminals may not have understood some joke or news publication. However, the largest holders of the first cryptocurrency today are issuers of spot Bitcoin ETFs, which have accumulated more than 1.1 million coins.
Also, about 1.1 million BTC have accumulated in wallets previously owned by the creator of the cryptocurrency under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto. Therefore, it would be quite strange to believe that one guy somehow managed to collect and not lose 2.5 million bitcoins, equivalent to 251.8 billion dollars at today’s rate.
In early December, the number of bitcoins in spot ETFs exceeded the supply of Satoshi Nakamoto coins
The investor panicked for a reason, as he had encountered potential robbers before. In particular, he first contacted the police on November 4 after a pair of unknown masked men threatened him near his home. The coin holder eventually managed to close the door on them and escape.
On November 8, a man was putting his daughter in the back seat of a car and noticed a black car with no license plates nearby. The drivers of this vehicle followed him while driving, which prompted the potential victim to call the police. Moreover, when he vacated the car, the criminals pointed a gun at him.
It all ended with the arrest of four people and the trial of two of them in November 2024. At that time, the latter were charged with conspiracy to commit kidnapping, as well as illegal possession of firearms.
The case will be heard in March 2025, and until then the suspects have been placed under house arrest. They can only visit their homes for work. However, this decision seemed dangerous to the crypto investor, so he began changing his place of residence, while “burning his last savings.”
How Often Cryptocurrency Investors Are Robbed
Early Bitcoin enthusiast and entrepreneur Jameson Lopp keeps track of cryptocurrency investor robberies , kidnappings, murders, and other unpleasant incidents involving attempts to steal other people’s digital assets. He has counted 181 such cases since December 2014.
Cryptocurrency scammers
First of all, the expert recommends avoiding peer-to-peer exchange of cryptocurrency for fiat money, i.e. through personal meetings. In this case, the investor reveals not only his connection to the world of coins, but also his identity, which makes him vulnerable.
Lopp also advises against flaunting one’s wealth on social media and against wearing clothes that contain cryptocurrency logos or anything similar.
The general logic is that the less criminals know about you, the less likely they are to be interested in you.
Therefore, the rules of interaction with crypto remain unchanged. Ideally, your investments should be known only to your family and friends, or to no one at all, since this will protect you from unwanted attention. You should also store coins using several hardware wallets and not give strangers a reason to think that you have a lot of money.
