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The dark and more ominous side of the crypto world was on display again this week when a 29-year-old foreign national became an unwitting victim in one of Kyiv, Ukraine’s brutal crimes.
This incident sheds light on the risks associated with cryptocurrency holdings and exposes the severe consequences of theft in this digital age.
A Tragic Abduction and Theft
The victim, a young enthusiast in the field of cryptocurrency, was tragically kidnapped and subsequently murdered by a group of four men.
The suspects, aged 24 to 29 years old, planned their attack in detail and assaulted the victim for his digital wallet containing 3 BTC worth around $200,000 at the time of the crime.
According to the report from the National Police of Ukraine, the kidnappers had been planning the abduction with precision, ensuring they knew exactly when and where to strike.
The first to sound the alarm were residents in the Solomyansk district of Kyiv, who called the police when they saw how a man was mercilessly beaten and thrown into a car. The police, upon arriving at the scene, quickly unraveled the sequence of events leading to the abduction.
The investigation reportedly disclosed that the victim was forced to accompany the kidnappers into a secluded building located in an adjacent town, which is where they then demanded that he hand over his Bitcoin from his digital wallet.
The culprits then took the most drastic step to cover their tracks: they strangled the young man and disposed of his body in a forest, leaving a chilling mark of their brutality.
The police’s swift action led them to the perpetrators, who had attempted to disguise their escape by changing the license plates on their getaway vehicle. Upon their arrest, authorities recovered cash converted from the stolen Bitcoin and other incriminating evidence.
The report disclosed that the suspects are currently being held without bail and have been charged with first-degree murder, robbery, and attempting to tamper with physical evidence. They are potentially facing life sentences if convicted, as the severity of their actions has led to an “irrevocable loss.”
Rise In Crypto Theft
It is worth noting that this tragic incident is just one of many crypto thefts recorded in the past years. With the continuous increase in crypto adoption, thieves from both offline and online have also chosen a niche in siphoning crypto assets from users.
A particularly notable theft recently reported was from a United Kingdom computer hacker. Although the theft didn’t lead to murder, the hacker who compromised more than 500 Coinbase accounts via phishing websites was able to steal roughly $900,000 from crypto users.
According to a report from North Norfolk News, the hacker has been sentenced to over three years in jail for the committed crime.
Intelligent Norwich hacker Elliott Gunton jailed for 42 months in crypto scam
The 24-year-old committed the offences when he was aged 17 and 18
He and fellow hackers accessed the Coinbase accounts of more than 500 crypto users by directing online logins to dummy website
Gunton… pic.twitter.com/IHyfY9Z7wm
— Ryan (@breakingryan1) July 26, 2024
Featured image created with DALL-E, Chart from TradingView
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