For my own safety, I quit

[Agbamoni]

As long as it's a developing country I will always advise Bitcoin payments should be on request and not publicly shown. We all know how poor security services in developing countries tend to be. A system that can't secure it's environment is it a random business premises they will secure. No standard ammunition, no good safety kits. One has to be wise when operating in a setting as this, it takes a living soul to run a business so one has to save their lives first even if it means taking down a sign post that publicly announces their mode of payment. This like that can ignite kidnapping or assassination.

It is also risky on request. I would rather run my business using FIAT currency to prevent all eyes on me. Running a business that accepts Bitcoin is risky in a developing country, due to kidnappers, scammers, and robbers who will see you as their next target.

Yes, the security in developing countries is very poor. Where the security is shaky running a business that has to do with large amount need a personal security but you know how much it will cost you.

[Inior]

For you being afraid isn't stupid at all. What you're feeling is a normal reaction as a human, since the incident happened close to you. And you're close to this particular person, experience like that can distort your feeling of safety. Firstly the issue isn't really Bitcoin itself, but the criminals that abuse it. But in your environment, perception  matters more than practical reality. If someone believes this person is involved in Bitcoin, so they're assumed to be wealthy, that alone can make you be a target to them. So taking down the signboard isn't fear, it's a smart precaution, and it doesn't make you weak, it means you're acting with foresight and awareness.

It can be traumatizing to know that a friend got kidnapped especially when you're relationship is close and you probably leave around same environment. Well if you feel unsafe making use of bitcoin you might need to go ahead with your decision besides there's nothing as valuable as our lives we only gat one life so it wouod be best to protect it at all cost. Kidnappers are mostly interested on those whom they can make money from and  when you give them clue that you have money, they won't hesitate to take advantage of it especially when you're are positive to reach.

[leonair]

I have been in fear for two days straight after I heard that few numbers of people are kidnapped and I happen to know one of the victim, they are asked to pay ransom in Bitcoin, I don't know maybe I should call this stupid or not but I am lost in my thoughts....

As a developing country that I am from, my people don't even have their ways of tracking criminals on the Blockchain, even in other countries that are well developed than mine, wrench attacks still happened and none of them attackers got caught.

The reason for my fear is the fact that I have "Bitcoin Payment accepted here" displayed on my business signboard, so I think it is time for me to bring it down for my own safety. What would you have done if you are in my shoe? Any better option you have in mind?

Those who accept Bitcoin as payment for their business never keep the Bitcoins they receive from their customers. They sell a product and receive Bitcoin as payment and sell it and use that money again to supply the product. So there is no issue of kidnapping here. The person who was kidnapped may have a large amount of Bitcoin holdings and he told everyone about it, that is why he was kidnapped. However, I do not think this will happen to those who accept Bitcoin as payment for their business. Bitcoin is not a criminal tool, it is a virtual currency.

[Yorubek]

I have been in fear for two days straight after I heard that few numbers of people are kidnapped and I happen to know one of the victim, they are asked to pay ransom in Bitcoin, I don't know maybe I should call this stupid or not but I am lost in my thoughts....

As a developing country that I am from, my people don't even have their ways of tracking criminals on the Blockchain, even in other countries that are well developed than mine, wrench attacks still happened and none of them attackers got caught.

The reason for my fear is the fact that I have "Bitcoin Payment accepted here" displayed on my business signboard, so I think it is time for me to bring it down for my own safety. What would you have done if you are in my shoe? Any better option you have in mind?

From my perspective, safety comes first. If accepting Bitcoin will bring terrible hardship to your life, then I think it is better not to accept Bitcoin, and it is better to accept fiat money for your business. If you feel insecure, then it is better to stop accepting Bitcoin for business. You can buy small amounts of Bitcoin continuously with a long-term plan and patiently hold on to them for a long time and wait for good times. As a result, in the future, Bitcoin can bring long-term profits, which will reduce the risk to your life and gradually be able to buy large amounts of Bitcoin.

[gabbie2010]

Yeah, if you want to minimize the risks - you can bring the sign down.

I didn't quite understand though - is the business yours or just a worker?

I think it bit late to bring down the business sign because the OP is well known and well associated in that business already, however the best bet is to stay low and remain anonymous in all business transactions possibly hire someone to manage the business because the OP might be a potential target by the kidnappers having known that he deals in bitcoin would definitely motivate those wicked kidnappers to carry out their wicked act or if possible the OP can hire fully armed personal security guards to stay save.

[allfriends88]

Those who accept Bitcoin as payment for their business never keep the Bitcoins they receive from their customers. They sell a product and receive Bitcoin as payment and sell it and use that money again to supply the product. So there is no issue of kidnapping here. The person who was kidnapped may have a large amount of Bitcoin holdings and he told everyone about it, that is why he was kidnapped. However, I do not think this will happen to those who accept Bitcoin as payment for their business. Bitcoin is not a criminal tool, it is a virtual currency.

What if the Bitcoin from the payment is kept by the OP? While it's true that the business must continue running, and the Bitcoin is another form of fiat for the OP to buy back goods or anything related to the business, we know the Bitcoin market is volatile, and when the Bitcoin price drops, will it be detrimental to the business if it is immediately sold? I think this is a possible scenario, and perhaps the OP is using his business to accumulate Bitcoin and fiat payments that he will use to purchase his business needs. The OP does need to be more vigilant and it's better not to list "accepting Bitcoin payments" first for security reasons, or only accept Bitcoin payments from people he knows.

[Makus]

I have been in fear for two days straight after I heard that few numbers of people are kidnapped and I happen to know one of the victim, they are asked to pay ransom in Bitcoin, I don't know maybe I should call this stupid or not but I am lost in my thoughts....

As a developing country that I am from, my people don't even have their ways of tracking criminals on the Blockchain, even in other countries that are well developed than mine, wrench attacks still happened and none of them attackers got caught.

The reason for my fear is the fact that I have "Bitcoin Payment accepted here" displayed on my business signboard, so I think it is time for me to bring it down for my own safety. What would you have done if you are in my shoe? Any better option you have in mind?

I think it's better for you to publicise online than displaying it on a signboard, the reason why I'm saying this is because they are lots of people doing the same business and they are not worried about getting kidnapped because they only post online but posting such on a business signboard is going to attract a lot of unwanted attention and for your own good it's better you quit and then focus more on doing your adverts online. if bitcoin transactions can be traced i wonder why a developing countries can track it down

[UpTober]

Criminal activities are happening regularly and every day we hear that businessmen are being kidnapped and demanded for cash, at the same time, many times there are bank robberies or frauds in online banking, so people have not given up using cash or have not given up online banking or have not closed banks. It is not like that because you have the Bitcoin payment system turned on, the kidnappers will kidnap you, but it is not like that because you have excluded the Bitcoin payment system from your payment method, it does not mean that you are 100% safe, but it cannot be said because if you do not have adequate security, they can kidnap you and demand cash. Since such incidents have happened in your area, I think you should take legal action in these matters and be careful in advance, being careful and taking legal action may be the most effective decision. I think there is nothing to change your payment method.

[7788bitcoin]

~
The reason for my fear is the fact that I have "Bitcoin Payment accepted here" displayed on my business signboard, so I think it is time for me to bring it down for my own safety. What would you have done if you are in my shoe? Any better option you have in mind?

It is very difficult to access a situation without knowing the entire story or the country you are from, no idea about the business you are involved, assuming it is a retail store, there is nothing to worry if you accept Bitcoin payment, unless you are flashy about how much money you made with the crypto market or how wealthy you are in general.

Is there any chance that your friend that got kidnapped is a social media influencer who flashes his lavish lifestyle.

[Popkon6]

I have been in fear for two days straight after I heard that few numbers of people are kidnapped and I happen to know one of the victim, they are asked to pay ransom in Bitcoin, I don't know maybe I should call this stupid or not but I am lost in my thoughts....

As a developing country that I am from, my people don't even have their ways of tracking criminals on the Blockchain, even in other countries that are well developed than mine, wrench attacks still happened and none of them attackers got caught.

The reason for my fear is the fact that I have "Bitcoin Payment accepted here" displayed on my business signboard, so I think it is time for me to bring it down for my own safety. What would you have done if you are in my shoe? Any better option you have in mind?

Since Bitcoin is not legal in your country and your country is developing where different people are harassing different people. So you are in a lot of tension with this Bitcoin signboard, since you are accepting payment through Bitcoin in your business establishment, even though it is correct, some people may harass you to attract the attention of different people. Because life is too short to take risks, because in this time you can never put your life at risk.
I think it is better to remove the signboard for safety, and when the situation calms down, you can start accepting payment through Bitcoin again and put up the signboard.

[Mpamaegbu]

I can remember a brother from another mother calling me a rich person all because I told him about Bitcoin and he failed to buy then but Bitcoin now made a new ATH of 126k.

That's so typical of where I come from too. I don't know if we share same nationality or it's mere coincidence. If they know you're in this industry, they make it a call of their duty to hail you in public and make small talks about cryptocurrencies whenever they find anything that interests them on it. They don't go about it discreetly. This is why I don't talk to people around me about Bitcoin/cryptos anymore. My privacy and security are my priority. I guard them jealousy.

It's only a foolish kidnapper that will kidnap someone and ask them for all their Bitcoin without knowing what they actually worth, what if the victim only has $200 worth of Bitcoin?

Most times, these criminals don't know what one is worth before kidnapping one. It's during the process of questioning or going through one's phone/device the begin to figure that out.

It's crazy how people think, till date I never told him that I lost huge amount of money investing on altcoins, now I think I should tell him before he firmly believe that I am so rich.

You better do before he unintentionally puts you in trouble.

[zasad@]

I have been in fear for two days straight after I heard that few numbers of people are kidnapped and I happen to know one of the victim, they are asked to pay ransom in Bitcoin, I don't know maybe I should call this stupid or not but I am lost in my thoughts....

As a developing country that I am from, my people don't even have their ways of tracking criminals on the Blockchain, even in other countries that are well developed than mine, wrench attacks still happened and none of them attackers got caught.

The reason for my fear is the fact that I have "Bitcoin Payment accepted here" displayed on my business signboard, so I think it is time for me to bring it down for my own safety. What would you have done if you are in my shoe? Any better option you have in mind?

I think it's better for you to publicise online than displaying it on a signboard, the reason why I'm saying this is because they are lots of people doing the same business and they are not worried about getting kidnapped because they only post online but posting such on a business signboard is going to attract a lot of unwanted attention and for your own good it's better you quit and then focus more on doing your adverts online. if bitcoin transactions can be traced i wonder why a developing countries can track it down

For example, I'll never pay with Bitcoin offline. Firstly, it takes a long time unless you use Lightning, and secondly, it might attract unwanted attention.

In online businesses, you can accept any cryptocurrency, but I'd rather use Litecoin because it's faster.

[pawel7777]

(...)
The reason for my fear is the fact that I have "Bitcoin Payment accepted here" displayed on my business signboard, so I think it is time for me to bring it down for my own safety. What would you have done if you are in my shoe? Any better option you have in mind?

Considering the circumstances, I don't think anyone could blame you for deciding to remove the sign and not publicly associate yourself with Bitcoin/crypto.
That being said, if the criminals in question actually have any shred of intelligence, they would not target you only because of that sign. For anyone who has even a slight idea of how operating a business work, it would be clear that accepting BTC is not equal to holding any significant amounts of it, as you would have to convert it to cash to pay suppliers/tax/eployees' wages etc. And knowing how sporadic bitcoin transactions are in brick-and-mortar shops, they would probably get much bigger loot from the cash in the counter.

Anyhow, stay safe OP.

[snowpega]

I have been in fear for two days straight after I heard that few numbers of people are kidnapped and I happen to know one of the victim, they are asked to pay ransom in Bitcoin, I don't know maybe I should call this stupid or not but I am lost in my thoughts....

As a developing country that I am from, my people don't even have their ways of tracking criminals on the Blockchain, even in other countries that are well developed than mine, wrench attacks still happened and none of them attackers got caught.

The reason for my fear is the fact that I have "Bitcoin Payment accepted here" displayed on my business signboard, so I think it is time for me to bring it down for my own safety. What would you have done if you are in my shoe? Any better option you have in mind?

No matter what asset you are holding, it can be in the form of gold, bitcoin, land, or silver in heavy holding. One should always keep the majority of their assets private from public eyes, especially in case they are facing such kind of issues just like you. And in the space of cryptocurrency, if you are holding bitcoin heavily, then there are many ways that can help you to stay anonymous from the public eye or being watched or traced.

That is why it is always recommended to keep your majority assets private from the system. As I have also seen many cases where when governmets comes to know that this perosn holding these assets, they started to investigate all things that the person is holding. So staying anonymous will help a lot to escape from many troubles. DYOR!

[Mame89]

I have been in fear for two days straight after I heard that few numbers of people are kidnapped and I happen to know one of the victim, they are asked to pay ransom in Bitcoin, I don't know maybe I should call this stupid or not but I am lost in my thoughts....

As a developing country that I am from, my people don't even have their ways of tracking criminals on the Blockchain, even in other countries that are well developed than mine, wrench attacks still happened and none of them attackers got caught.

The reason for my fear is the fact that I have "Bitcoin Payment accepted here" displayed on my business signboard, so I think it is time for me to bring it down for my own safety. What would you have done if you are in my shoe? Any better option you have in mind?

Those who accept Bitcoin as payment for their business never keep the Bitcoins they receive from their customers. They sell a product and receive Bitcoin as payment and sell it and use that money again to supply the product. So there is no issue of kidnapping here. The person who was kidnapped may have a large amount of Bitcoin holdings and he told everyone about it, that is why he was kidnapped. However, I do not think this will happen to those who accept Bitcoin as payment for their business. Bitcoin is not a criminal tool, it is a virtual currency.

This depends on your area. If you live in a crime-prone area far from a police station or in a remote area advertising Bitcoin payments is indeed too risky. Even in the areas I mentioned above using fiat currency alone is vulnerable to extortion or kidnapping.

So, this really depends on the environment where you live. If there is a high crime rate safety is more important than advertising Bitcoin payments. People commit crimes not based on the amount of assets you have, but rather on the opportunity to commit them. While Bitcoin isn't a crime it can sometimes lead others to commit crimes against those who hold or own a large amount of Bitcoin. This is the privacy function of Bitcoin preventing us from becoming targets for those who commit crimes.

[uchegod-21]

It is important for you to understand the environment you live and the security situation there. Anyone who lives in a society which is considered safe may not be able to understand your fears and it will also be unwise for you to live your life like those bitcoiners in safe cities. You have done nothing wrong for deciding to give yourself a little bit privacy and anonymity, the society where you live in demanded such from you. I will do same if criminals begin to target bitcoiners in my area.  I will only invest in private and among close friends and relatives, but will never make it public for everyone to know. Sadly, I may also not accept bitcoin payments just for security reasons.

[Zanab247]

Criminal activities are happening regularly and every day we hear that businessmen are being kidnapped and demanded for cash, at the same time, many times there are bank robberies or frauds in online banking, so people have not given up using cash or have not given up online banking or have not closed banks. It is not like that because you have the Bitcoin payment system turned on, the kidnappers will kidnap you, but it is not like that because you have excluded the Bitcoin payment system from your payment method, it does not mean that you are 100% safe, but it cannot be said because if you do not have adequate security, they can kidnap you and demand cash. Since such incidents have happened in your area, I think you should take legal action in these matters and be careful in advance, being careful and taking legal action may be the most effective decision. I think there is nothing to change your payment method.

If not insecurity that is affecting some countries I don't think kidnappers will have the mind to go after citizens to kidnapp and start demanding for money, because it will not going to take their arm Forces to locate the kidnappers and force them to face justice in the land. There is a robbery that happened when I was in school and they robbed was successful and they went with big amount of money, because arm Forces and other local security where afraid to attack them in the public, because they know that it will take many people lives.

There are some that just learned crypto to introduce it to their business, while there are some that learn it to involve it in kidnapping, because they know it will be hard for people to tracy the people behind the robbery in the society.

[silpersurfer]

It is important for you to understand the environment you live and the security situation there. Anyone who lives in a society which is considered safe may not be able to understand your fears and it will also be unwise for you to live your life like those bitcoiners in safe cities. You have done nothing wrong for deciding to give yourself a little bit privacy and anonymity, the society where you live in demanded such from you. I will do same if criminals begin to target bitcoiners in my area.  I will only invest in private and among close friends and relatives, but will never make it public for everyone to know. Sadly, I may also not accept bitcoin payments just for security reasons.

This is a very big risk if many people know we have bitcoin, especially if our lives look better than most people, it will cause envy towards them, especially if we don't socialize properly like we don't really have close relationships with neighbors.
I agree that it is very important for our privacy and anonymity in the real world because even in many safe countries if the area is not safe then it is very dangerous, they may not be able to track your bitcoin but if they know that you have bitcoin then the threat can come at any time when everything is related to you and your family.

[Findingnemo]

Let's forget the bitcoin for a moment, i assume you got a business that is why it says "Bitcoin accepted here" now if you don't accept bitcoin still you will have the business running, customers paying and the cash register will have cash and your bank account will have money.

Now you say what is stopping those criminals or wrench attackers to do the same, I mean bank transfer is possible to track but grabbing money from the register it is not possible so we should also remove currency accepted here?

Just a though came to my mind after reading the term I quit.

[Ryu_Ar1]

This is a very big risk if many people know we have bitcoin, especially if our lives look better than most people, it will cause envy towards them, especially if we don't socialize properly like we don't really have close relationships with neighbors.
I agree that it is very important for our privacy and anonymity in the real world because even in many safe countries if the area is not safe then it is very dangerous, they may not be able to track your bitcoin but if they know that you have bitcoin then the threat can come at any time when everything is related to you and your family.

This is not simply a matter of socializing because evil will not take into account whether we are good at socializing or not especially if we see what happens to the OP in his environment this is clearly not a benchmark.
The issue of socialization in the environment is important but we must also see whether the environment is suitable for us to get along. If you look at what the OP feels the environment where he lives is indeed quite vulnerable, especially for those who try to make transactions or businesses using Bitcoin because these criminals know they can get bigger profits from here and they will not be easily tracked.

If the conditions are like that then the OP's decision is the right thing where he does not need to take a big risk just because he is trying to do the same thing even though making Bitcoin as a payment option is very good but when it is risky with threatened security then stopping it is the right thing to do.