19 September 2019 10:18, UTC

Despite being innovation and disruptive financial instrument, cryptocurrency still has its downsides, which is also being attractive to the criminal world. Regulators from all over the world still blame Bitcoin and other cryptos for its ability to conduct money-laundering operations. And if that wouldn’t be enough, the crypto enthusiasts are in danger themselves, being sometimes easy prey for robbers and burglars which consider them as a source of infinite riches.

For some of the unlucky crypto enthusiasts, there was an unpleasant lesson that, no matter how successful a person may become in business ventures, investments or any other means of income, it’s a priority to keep it to oneself.

Bitnewstoday makes a retrospective of different criminal cases which clearly state the necessity of protecting one’s life, health as well as the assets, even if they are virtual. The physical world sometimes proves to be quite aggressive, and no virtual cryptographic space can save you from an offline threat.

Intrusion in Norway

A good example of an introductory case — Norwegian citizen was attacked in his own house by back in May 2019, but the court hearing for this crime is active right now, where reportedly the suspect will be sentenced to a few years in the Norwegian prison, as the details were provided by a

Back then, the victim was held at gunpoint, but luckily managed to escape the robber by jumping out from his balcony into the streets below. The victim is one of Norway’s few Bitcoin millionaires, that made his fortune during the crypto craze of 2017 and 2018. Sources also say that he is an owner of a crypto oriented company, but the name is still undisclosed. Police suspect that, due to the person’s notoriety in Norway, for having made around $11 mln from crypto investments, the robber believed he would be a great target and an easy one.

By putting himself on public display, the Norwegian crypto millionaire inadvertently turned into a target for this robber. Plus, because of still leading a relatively modest life, it was believed he was the optimal target for this assailant.

Kidnapping of CEO

The executive director of Exmo Finance,was dragged into a black Mercedes Benz by his kidnappers sometime in December of 2017. The kidnappers were demanding a $1 million ransom through Bitcoin which they received. Fortunately for Lerner, the kidnappers were not homicidal and they released him.

Investigations have been raging ever since the kidnapping as the police continue to search for the criminals, as Lerner tried to recover from his traumatic experience.

Famous blogger in Russia robbed, committing suicide afterwards

Pavel NYASHIN (MAKUSHIN) was a famous blogger and know in the Internet space of Russia. He became a victim of robbers, which took out almost 25 million rubles ($390 000 estimately) from his house in an elite cottage village. Although he had previously boasted about his fortune via his blog, claiming that he was indecently rich, and even recklessly mentioned about the house where he kept his money.

Pavel tried to recover his health and financial situation, being under pressure from his lenders and investors. Despite his efforts and some success in refundings, shockingly, he committed suicide. The resonant robbery made 23-year-old blogger notoriously famous throughout Russia and inflicted a severe reputational damage on the crypto industry as a whole.

Torturers from the Netherlands

In March 2019, several robbers broke into the house of a Dutch cryptocurrency trader. The criminals tortured their victim with a drill in hopes of getting the password to his crypto wallet.

According to authorities, the man had a substantial amount gathered from trading on the markets. It is currently unknown whether the robbers got what they were looking for, but the investigation is still in motion.

Crypto gangs in India

Serious crime issues were rampant in India when cryptocurrencies were at the height of their popularity.

A criminal gang, comprised of as many as 50 members abducted three cryptocurrency traders and requested 80 Bitcoins as a ransom. The police were immediately alerted and seized handguns, SUVs and various other illegal substances once the criminals were arrested.

Kidnapped in South Africa

The members of the criminal group from Lanseria, SAR, pretended to be the organizers of a crypto event and phoned the victim trader with a request to make a report on cryptocurrencies at their event. The gang lulled the trader and took him to an unknown place, where he was tortured. As a result, the trader transferred about $59,000 to the crypto wallet of criminals and about $7,200 to one of the bank accounts.

In addition to crypto savings, the trader called “Andrew” in police reports, lost some cash, 2 iPhones and 2 laptops. The victim is undergoing rehabilitation courses, and the police are investigating the case.

Image courtesy of CCN

Found a mistake? Select the text and press CTRL+ENTER

Share:

Read the best crypto news analysis here! bitnewstoday.com Bitcoin, investments, regulation and other cryptocurrencies