[2018-02-23] Moscow Man Mutilated And Mugged For $1 Million In Bitcoin

[FollowSynergy]

A cryptocurrency investor fell victim to unidentified assailants in Moscow who reportedly disfigured him and stole over $1 mln worth of Bitcoin, today, Feb. 23, according to local crypto journal Forklog.

According to Forklog, the victim, who has not been named, was in the southern district of the Russian capital when a group of muggers stopped him and demanded he transfer his holdings.

When he refused, they “mutilated his face with a knife” before he surrendered his collection of around 100 BTC, approximately $1,020,000 at press time, according to the publication.

The incident comes just weeks after robbers targeted a well-known YouTube blogger in St. Petersburg, assaulting him and stealing possessions including funds worth $425,000 from a safe.

The unknown Moscow victim is currently receiving medical attention while police attempt to ascertain the sequence of events, according to Forklog.

Security issues surrounding ownership of and even interaction with cryptocurrency continues to fall under the spotlight in both Russia and neighboring states. The Ukrainian Security Service raid of the Odessa office of Forklog itself in December 2017 highlighted the potential for even authorities to indulge in criminal activity, while the abduction of EXMO exchange CEO Pavel Lerner in Kiev in December only ended after payment of a $1 mln ransom.

https://cointelegraph.com/news/moscow-man-mutilated-and-mugged-for-1-million-in-bitcoin-local-sources-report

[Crypto traderPT]

Security is important not only on computers but also on the street! Important to hide up all the business in all aspects

[jseverson]

It's interesting how both cases mentioned happened in Russia. It's much more likely to be a coincidence, of course, but could there be Russia-based criminals using chain analysis to trace Bitcoins to their owners? It's a very long shot, but I'd say it's somewhat possible. Both were targeted attacks, so the criminals somehow knew that they were holding a sizable stash, either by them blabbing (which is much more likely) or through other means.

Either way, this just highlights the value of protecting your identity, both online and offline.

[Mpamaegbu]

The incident comes just weeks after robbers targeted a well-known YouTube blogger in St. Petersburg, assaulting him and stealing possessions including funds worth $425,000 from a safe.

Though the two cases are isolated, they are the same. However, this happening in a country (Russia) which has not really taken a stand going forward on bitçoin in terms of national monetary policy like the lack of it in Africa, speaks volumes of the publicity of bitcoin across the globe and it also highlights the need for a sense of reticence on one's holdings too. The dude in the cited case above actually brought his own attack on himself because of his loud mouth and display of affluence online. That isn't to say that these attacks are not condemnable. They are but people should be careful how they brag about their holdings, really.

[Qartersa]

A cryptocurrency investor fell victim to unidentified assailants in Moscow who reportedly disfigured him and stole over $1 mln worth of Bitcoin, today, Feb. 23, according to local crypto journal Forklog.

According to Forklog, the victim, who has not been named, was in the southern district of the Russian capital when a group of muggers stopped him and demanded he transfer his holdings.

When he refused, they “mutilated his face with a knife” before he surrendered his collection of around 100 BTC, approximately $1,020,000 at press time, according to the publication.

The incident comes just weeks after robbers targeted a well-known YouTube blogger in St. Petersburg, assaulting him and stealing possessions including funds worth $425,000 from a safe.

The unknown Moscow victim is currently receiving medical attention while police attempt to ascertain the sequence of events, according to Forklog.

Security issues surrounding ownership of and even interaction with cryptocurrency continues to fall under the spotlight in both Russia and neighboring states. The Ukrainian Security Service raid of the Odessa office of Forklog itself in December 2017 highlighted the potential for even authorities to indulge in criminal activity, while the abduction of EXMO exchange CEO Pavel Lerner in Kiev in December only ended after payment of a $1 mln ransom.

https://cointelegraph.com/news/moscow-man-mutilated-and-mugged-for-1-million-in-bitcoin-local-sources-report

This is alarming! But one thing I have noticed is the fact that the assailants knew who to target. And so basing from the facts hereto stipulated, I can say there is negligence in terms of keeping things business on the part of the victim -- of course, not necessarily it is the latter who put himself in that situation but might be others who were close to him who knew very well of his investments. Come to think of it, how can these robbers ask the victim to surrender his Bitcoin when the former have no idea about how much the latter is worth in Bitcoin? There is no way in the blockchain technology, as it is today, that anybody can just figure how much an investor is worth. One takeaway here is to keep things as private as can be especially when it comes to money because people can be so cruel.

[Paractor]

Youtubers who want fame and fortune usually need to learn a lesson to not falunt what they have cause everybody is watching them.

[Rodon]

This is a good example to show people that we have to be careful with cryptocurrencies. Even if that's a digital money, it's still real. And it might show a lack of security about the anonymity of users.