Bitcoin Forum

A criminal gang in South Africa who kidnapped a teenage boy on Sunday are demanding a ransom in bitcoin crytocurrency of nearly $120,000, police said.

http://www.africanews.com/2018/05/23/south-africa-kidnappers-demand-ransom-in-bitcoin-to-free-teenager (http://www.africanews.com/2018/05/23/south-africa-kidnappers-demand-ransom-in-bitcoin-to-free-teenager)
How will such news affect critics view of bitcoins?

This could be a new way for the terrorist groups to obtain ransom fee without getting compromised with their identity. Well they are using bitcoin for there illegal activities and this is not a good thing about posting it here in the forum. This will lead to more negativeness on bitcoin system. As we all know that bitcoin is being designed for any decentralized transactions that will not required identity in getting involve with it to keep oneself security.

I wonder why these terrorist groups do not require other anonymous tokens.
Because bitcoin transfers can be traced back, anonymous token transfers cannot be found.

It might worsen their subjective opinion of bitcoin, but it won't greatly affect us because bitcoin being used for criminal activities(sometimes) is already a well known fact.
You might want to read this articles from bitcoin.com (https://news.bitcoin.com/new-york-credit-card-scammer-allegedly-sent-bitcoin-isis/), express.co.uk (https://www.express.co.uk/finance/city/893151/Bitcoin-price-latest-news-ISIS-terror-cryptocurrency), and coindesk (https://www.coindesk.com/doj-alleges-bitcoin-involved-attempted-isis-funding/) to enlighten yourself. My point here is that it is already being used by terrorist(like ISIS) to fund their terrorism way back January 2018, and it is not a new way for them because they already have used bitcoin to ask for ransom according to another article (https://gizmodo.com/kidnapped-crypto-exchange-executive-reportedly-paid-1-1821658250).

looks like a new movie is about to be made

Please do not listen to social media when you are talking about cryptocurrencies . We know all that all crypto world is manipulated by social media "China bans ICOs/mining ; Japan bans Bitcoin" . And in the second way Africa is the last country in the world.

Making the adoption of bitcoin even more difficult,especiaally with goverment.Criminals,terrorists,kidnappers,moneylaunders,have found a safe haven with the use of bitcoin..Its just a matter of time b4 strict regulatory policies are introduced..

These topic makes  negative views in Bitcoin but for us holders and investors we knew the inside it is good and very respectful Bitcoin is we set aside those bad  people bullying bitcoin we ignored them.

Yeah, they have a plan.
Get bitcoin then exchange with another token. So they will be safe. and then, they are will sell all tokens again.

This is the dark side of bitcoin. You are the only holder of your money.
You can't hide under bank's privacy.
So talk with caution and choose wiselynthe people you talk to.

How many of you'll thought that is another attempt to bring down the use of bitcoins. Look how the mainstream media is sharing this news, it's as if bitcoins is a person and that's is guilty. People ransom used to and even till date happens in fiat, what is the guarantee that this is a real kidnapping and not just a ploy by the bankers, media and government to bring Ill reputation to bitcoins.

This is not the first time we have read about this kind of happening online. Sometime last year it was about a Spanish who was also held to ransom and bitcoin demanded. This is a dangerous development and it will continue to give bitcoin a bad name.

Because of the anonymity of bitcoin, it has been able to collect money efficiently, and some illegal activities like to use bitcoin payment. This is part of the encryption world. We need not be surprised. This is not that bitcoin is a bad technology. We should know that people use the US dollar illegally every day in the world.

Of course critics of Bitcoin always like to use news like this, just to 'prove' their point that Bitcoin is mostly used by criminals.
In reality, I'm sure that the absolute majority of criminal transactions are still done with either cash or through bank accounts even (by mules).

Heck, the other day I even saw a website that allowed you to buy various drugs and pay with a SEPA transfer. (on the clearnet mind you)

I do think that once Bitcoin or crypto in general is used by more and more people, news like this won't even matter that much anymore.
Then people might actually start seeing it as a form of digital cash, while also knowing that sometimes technology is used by bad people. It doesn't mean that the technology itself is bad.

A bad news for bitcoins that will affect its implicitly. The criminality that bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies can be use for is the main reason why banks and governments dont want to give it a full support. Other bad people will follow and it will become norm for kidnappers to demand their ransom in cryptocurrencies.

Abductions happen every day and this is nothing new, also there is a reports that kidnappers ask ransome in cryptocurrency before. But BTC is not completely anonymous and in such cases special efforts can be made to find the kidnappers. It is obvious that these perpetrators are not familiar with facts that they can ask ransome in some other crypto which is much harder or nearly impossible to track.

Such news certainly does not contribute to popularity of BTC, but they should be seen as just one more obstacle on the road to success.

Not bitcoins fault really is it

You have money and go to such places then you are taking a risk........ sometimes it doesn't pay off.

Hopefully the transaction goes through and the kidnappers release them unharmed... takes pressure off of the kidnappers and less likely to encourage a failed rescue attempt than a cash settlement

This is more of an indication that the some countries have failed to address social problems ... I would say it is far worse news for s africa than it is for btc that is doing its job perfectly.

Of course this will be another negative for bitcoin as a whole. And those who are against bitcoin will really used this crimes another way to opposed it in every way. Maybe those critics inside Africa will blow this out of the proportion and painted bitcoin as a tool for criminals. As for the price, it may have affected it but I don't think that it will be long term though. Right now the price keeps going down and maybe this news have added fuel to the fire. But if you are going to analyze it, criminals will be criminals and will exploit any system that they can find and crypto is one system that they can take full advantage because of its (pseudo) anonymity.

Yeah, I think they're using Bitcoin name just to get more attention, there is no point in blaming cryptocurrency. Same way that people can kidnap a kid and demand Dollars or Euros  :-\

I don't think it'll change critics' views. They've already made up their minds that Bitcoin is evil, so this is just another drop in the bucket. Never mind the fact that kidnappers have asked for cash in kidnappings since time immemorial.

But yeah, it kind of baffles me why they would ask Bitcoins as ransom money. They realize they're going to have a ridiculously hard time spending it because the addresses involved will be heavily monitored right? Cash would be a lot easier to hide and spend. They're probably planning to escape overseas or something, and even then, their identities could still be traced fairly easily. It kind of makes me think that the kidnappers themselves know nothing about the technology. Misconceptions work both ways, if that were the case, and they will be brought to justice because of Bitcoin lmao.

These are calibre of people that we should collectively castigate and ensure they are not getting any support despite our love for crypto currency. People like this are continuing in destroying the already fragile relationship between government and their grouse against bitcoin. Even though government have their own blame for not ensuring that security of life and property is adequate, they would then use this as an excuse to further launch their attacks against bitcoin forgetting with less emphasis on their own inefficiencies.

We can only hope that the young lad is return back to his family unhurt because I can imagine the trauma that he would have been through with the hope of those people getting caught dimmer than if other form of payment have been requested.

New innovation lol with kidnappers maybe they might have been told the value of it so they want to explore to know it feels to own it ,But honestly speaking this a whole new negative point on bitcoin God help us.

I sympathize with the aggrieved family. But asking for bitcoin as ransome is a bit awkward.

 Another FUD in the social media stream, it'is not a new one, it's been a strategy that big whales and other manipulators being orchestrated for a long time but still there are weak people are victimized with this kind of strategy, but if this news is really true then it could be creating another negative effect as it is one reason with why regulation being impose.

I wish that teenager become free soon from the kidnapper. This news is a sighn that what kind of things bad people do for bitcoin. The demand of bitcoin is rising so its price. But whenever we do something we also think about our future. It is also a good sign for us that we can invest in bitcoin trading.

I don't think so,but maybe you just read a fake news! There's no bad elements who will plan to kidnap their subject just for ransom of bitcoin instead of hard cash.

hmm every news is good news? for sure this will affect the view of btc to some. but on the other hand side btc becomes popular..

Surely this would be difficult if we see that most people out there use all the means to extradite Bitcoin extensively, whether it's for the needs of terrorists whether a gang of segrombols that seeks to take advantage of the moment, at least it can be followed up by the local authorities how to unveil the victims of the kidnappers who notabennya request ransom Bitcoin which is calculated very much ...

It's not the first, and it's not going to be the last, so nobody cares about this anymore.
Just two months ago:

Kidnappers demand ransom in bitcoin
https://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/kidnappers-demand-ransom-in-bitcoin/

And that's nothing compared to this one:
Taiwanese Kidnappers Receive $1.68M Bitcoin Ransom from Billionaire Yuk-Kwan
https://cointelegraph.com/news/taiwanese-kidnappers-receive-168m-bitcoin-ransom-from-billionaire-yuk-kwan

Do a google search and I'm willing to be you;re going to find at least 10 cases in less than 5 minutes..

So, if you're expecting something big, you're going to be disappointed

Of course, this story about the abduction of a teenager is just terrible! But this does not affect the use of bitcoin - the bandits could demand a ransom in fiat money. It's strange that they know anything about bitcoins at all...

Thats aweful since then, when the criminals are still free, when they going to free the kidnap victim, Bitcoin transaction is hiding someones identity!

It's not new anymore, a lots of previous incidents happened before and didn't change any critics points of view, bitcoin is a currency and if those kidnappers are well informed how to use this system to avoid physical contacts with the family of their victims then we cant deny the fact that they will use it for their benefits, nothing was change and nothing is new with this news, better to research more about bitcoin history and learn from those previous information.

the criminal rate there is very high., I think this is a stupid act, but on the other side, crypto has become a trend in the world. so crypto will be more popular.

does the kidnapper have not a better way to get crypto?

and this is the lesson for us, to be more careful, we better not talk much about the amount of crypto we have. and do not spread to others.

well am so sorry for the family affected though, lots of haters of bitcoin will start to carry this bad news around now knowing fully well that it will tag bitcoin with negative comments from the public. but i want us all to know that there is nothing that cannot be abused, so the terrorist groups also know that the best way to obtain ransom fee without getting compromised with their identity by their prey or police is through BTC since it can be anonymously transfer without a trace.

My advice is not to give information about bad bitcoin, kidnappers are bad activities that undermine the popularity of bitcoin.
this news will only add to bitcoin suffering for longer because with bad news about bitcoin indirectly will lower the price of bitcoin back down. and that often happens

Well, I was following this news and I just saw that they found the boy. It also looks like they paid the ransom, so this is just

going to become a trend now. I am not saying that the ransom should not have been paid, but someone must find a way to

stop these f#$%ers!. Here is the Bitcoin address :

https://blockchain.info/address/3GEBeMBU9oMu9dunS8ArmvHDpyn327DipH

I got this from here --> https://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/8li7bn/bitcoin_for_ransom_south_africas_first_case/

...and here is the article : https://www.enca.com/south-africa/Boy-in-bitcoin-kidnapping-case-found

Just glad that they found him and that he is safe. Some of the coins was moved, so I guess people are following this.  ???

If anyone know how to trace these guys, please send the information to the South African authorities, so that we as a

community can stop this, before it becomes a trend.  >:( >:(

The kidnappers request is in bitcoin because bitcoin is the most valuable of all cryptocurrencies and because it can help them prevent their identities from being tracked by the law enforcement agencies. This type of development can hasten the position of government towards regulating cryptocurrencies.

they may know that being redeemed using bitcoins will make them more profitable and gain huge profits for the future.
or a second possibility. if redeemed with bitcoin transactions they will become more difficult to be investigated by the police (police)

This is one of the issues or kinks that I think most of the countries are worried about if bitcoin or the cryptocurrency would be adopted by the whole of the world. ITs greatest asset which is anonymity would also be the one thing that would be considered its greatest weakness. The governments of some of the world have called put that bitcoin though it has its potential also can open doors otherwise unheard of due to the features it has built on

Criminals are going to make a case of out of this news and use it to make money from kidnappers. This is one disadvantages of bitcoins.

It is a really unfortunate situation but the fact remains that the trail will remain when it comes to bitcoin and i understand why they are not demanding fiat currency because the serial number will be noted down, once the address is provided the authorities can monitor the wallet and once they move to any exchanges they can be caught, even if they try to use mixers when there are authorities that are monitoring the trail the mixers could confiscate the amount.

Smart guys ;D

With a bank transfer, they will be caught immediately. With bitcoin, it would be hard to tack the transfer and find out their identities. I see a threat in this. Criminals can use a bitcoin in their dirty businesses.

The actions of these kidnappers will taint bitcoin in a bad light, the social media who of recent had in the forefront of tarnishing the image of btc with various internet frauds such as money laundering the press will capitalize on this  bad news and intensifies their effort in sending negative signals about bitcoin thus encouraging more bans and regulations in many countries.

already from the beginning like this is said but Bitcoin function is not for that (robbery). and it can only make a FUD.

but Bitcoin is used to simplify future transactions, between one country and another with time saving and no paper money + coins.

First, it's almost impossible to track coins that go through multiple mixing sessions.
Chipmixer, for example, gives you the coins in an already funded address, which received those coins well before you thought of mixing your coins.
And two rounds of that, an exchange from BTC to god knows what altcoin and then sell the coins thought proxy via local deals.

No tracking will be able to keep up with this and don't forget, on top of that, those are kidnappers. Criminals, not the usual bitcointalk scammer, they probably have enough face id cards and documents to pass tens of KYC inquiries.
And, they can easily cross the border and make those deals there, it's a pain in the ass to track activities of a gang outside your jurisdiction, let's not talk even about retrieving those funds.

Bottom line, they've made the use of the best option they've had and unfortunately, cryptos are good at this.
No point denying it.


At least they've used a segwit address  8)

maybe for the holder who is quite frantic and think narrow it will affect them but I think the name of the opportunity people to abuse it there will be any sophisticated existing security system, no system can stop the evil intentions of someone, the important mistake does not exist in btc right, even if the news is true, we should not be so enlarged, we stay focused on the basic reason why this crypto was created and our main purpose of joining btc

The kidnappers demanded 15 Bitcoins to be paid on their Bitcoin wallet noted with non-negotiable. The deadline had already passed on 21 May 2018, and they also threatened to kill the boy if their demands were not met in time. If everything goes right for criminals, then other gangs and criminals will be motivated, this should be stopped, and responsible peoples should be punished.

This is one disadvantage of bitcoin they used it for self interest  for doing harmful things like this..  It is kinda alarming and will affect again the reputation of bitcoin..  Though give good impact but it shoudnt be this way..

That's one of the disadvantages of Blockchain and crypto it's on traceable. We are going to be seeing alot of this in the near future. But the advantages of crypto is greater than its disadvantages.

That's one of the disadvantages of Blockchain and crypto it's on traceable. We are going to be seeing alot of this in the near future. But the advantages of crypto is greater than its disadvantages.

This will greatly affect bitcoin negatively. Small none technical criminals are starting to see bitcoin as a perfect medium of money transfer and hiding their identity. This will alert the government for sure.

If try very very hard it is possible to track transactions in the network of cryptocurrency, it is possible by governments and very large organizations. Especially if there is a serious question.

The government should be able to develop a team or an organization to track these group of terrorists. Their crime of kidnapping through bitcoin as ransom is an inhumanity, and will give a traumatic effect to teenagers whose been a victim. If government could impose a strict regulations of cryptocurrency transactions towards local currency cash out transactions, then possibly those criminals be tracked by authorities.

This will have a negative impact on the bitcoin. Because we know Bitcoin is a good investment project. But after seeing these events people will lose interest in Bitcoin. Which is harmful for bitcoin. I think forum committees take very effective steps so that such incidents do not happen in the future.