Bitcoin Forum

13-Year-Old Bitcoin Kidnapping Victim Found Safe

A young 13-old-year boy who had been kidnapped last Sunday in South Africa has been found safe and sound. His kidnappers had demanded a Bitcoin ransom of roughly $120,000.

http://bitcoinist.com/13-year-old-bitcoin-kidnapping-victim-found-safe/

This was definitely an amateur job, they take boy and ask for ransome in BTC from people who are not rich or have any connection with cryptocurrency. They do that in front of surveillance cameras, so friend of the family is found them in a cafe shop near the place where the kidnapping took place. But it is not known how they find kidnapped boy and where he was imprisoned. When we consider that police say : "that no suspects had been arrested or charged" this story looks a little odd.

Amateur job or not, these guys still got 5.4 BTC from whomever transferred those coins to the Address they ordered it to be paid in. The problem for us is that these people got away with this and now other kidnappers are going to copy the same strategy and this is going to become the new method to get ransom money from victims.

The South African authorities will need specialized assistance from Crypto currency specialists to stop this from spreading. 

Just like with ransomware, criminals are not targeting Bitcoin users specifically, they just use Bitcoin as their payment method and demand that their victims use only it - they don't care if the victims already own it or will have to buy it on exchange. If this will continue to happen, critics will be using this as an argument against Bitcoin, just like when Bill Gates claimed that it kills people because it's used to buy drugs.

That was an epic fail type of kidnapping im not saying to tolerate these crimes but they arent fully aware that not all people do have the idea or knowledge on what is bitcoin. If you demanded bitcoin to the parents of that child then its still useless yet would still end up on getting fiat instead but well no matter which way they do ask ransom, we should really not let leave our child alone.These crimes doesnt exist only on cryptocurrency aims or ransoms but these had been happening for how many decades where kidnapping for ransom is rampant.

I do not know where you find that address and see that balance, but even if there is 5.4 BTC this is not proof that that the family paid part of the ransom. Also the investigation is still in progress so kidnappers are not got away, but who knows what's in this story is actually true and what is not.

This is not first case where kidnappers ask ransome in cryptocurrency, and it will not be last for sure. Technology is advancing every day, and BTC anonymity is decreasing. Three letters agencies work hard regarding this since 2013, Edward Snowden show as that in the documents (https://theintercept.com/2018/03/20/the-nsa-worked-to-track-down-bitcoin-users-snowden-documents-reveal/) it has released.

And sounds funnny that kidnappers hide their personality in bitcoins anonymity,and they got it right because wallet address is more safer and faster for their illegal activities.

I hope authorities may find chances to find and stop this kind of bad works,because for sure many of this will happen around the globe if thiis is not addressed as serious threats for bitcoiners or even in every government

Now many criminals have begun to use Bitcoin as a means of payment. This is one reason that Bitcoin is banned in many countries. They believe that Bitcoin is always related to crime. :(

South Africans are rich and I am sure they are as knowledgeable about bitcoin as you are. These kidnappers are not stupid to ask for Bitcoin worth of $120k. Added to that, they know the value of bitcoin. It is lot easier and safer to leave a note with the btc address than make the victim leave a bag of cash in the street.  But still bitcoin is not for these kind of people. Bitcoin is better than that.

How much is known to me SAR is not consider as country where most people live good, there are some rich people like in any country in the world, but their middle class constitutes only 16% of population. If there is few % or very rich people on top of that, we have some 80% people who live in misery and poverty. Parents of that kidnapped boy is not rich and they do knot know anything about BTC.

Kidnappers are actually stupid, they pick wrong family, and they take the boy in front of surveillance cameras - could it be more stupid than that? Yes it can be, they did not got rid of the car used for kidnapping.