A family in the US was taken hostage for cryptocurrency

[Kelvinid]

It feels like I see a new one of these type of stories every day. There are only certain things we can do to prevent this from happening to us.

Don’t tell people you are in to crypto, word spreads fast. The fewer people that know the better. Keep a Trezor device spare, separate to your main stash, with a smaller % of your stack on. If this type of thing happens to you, you can give up the smaller stack to appease an invader. You might escape with the majority of your money still in your possession and your life intact.

People do not learn yet and probably want to learn the hard way, so this type of stories will surely be happening repetitively.

But if you chose to live simple and lowkey, I don't think people will be chasing you and your crypto. As long as you didn't share anything about crypto that will make them suspicious on you, you don't have to worry. People won't do something bad unless you start giving them hints to do so.

And for high security, always keep a trezor spare device or an extra hardware wallet and while your funds are not actually on the device, but that device holds your private keys.

[Floxynice]

Yea, every time I read stories like this, I am reminded of the importance of privacy. People will target you if they know too much about you, and they will not seek to steal what they don't know you own.

Another thing I want to correct is that people are not only targeting crypto. Criminals will make you a target as long as they believe you have lots of money. It doesn't matter whether it is crypto or fiat. Everyone must try as much as possible to live a private life and disclose very few details about themselves.

To those crypto educators or YouTubers who earn money from teaching crypto or Bitcoin to an audience for a fee, they can do so facelessly. There are lots of stories going on now that my mind can no longer absorb

[Japinat]

I have read cases like this several times. Physical attacks will definitely occur against cryptocurrency (Bitcoin) holders who have been monitored because their privacy was leaked. This is where privacy works, we ignore privacy too much. bitcoin has designed it but nowadays privacy is no longer a priority for those who are adopting bitcoin, they are proud to show off their ownership, plus companies that adopt bitcoin do not prioritize privacy anymore

Greed invades privacy. And while you invest on your personal data and information and flex them online for other people to praise, slowly you are putting yourself into danger because your total privacy has leaked completely. And that's automatically putting your bitcoin at high risk, the reason why criminals suddenly flew to your address and attack you and your whole family only for one reason alone, to get every crypto you have in your wallet.

If only privacy is given the topmost priority, this kind of stories will be stopped already.

[OcTradism]

Greed invades privacy. And while you invest on your personal data and information and flex them online for other people to praise, slowly you are putting yourself into danger because your total privacy has leaked completely. And that's automatically putting your bitcoin at high risk, the reason why criminals suddenly flew to your address and attack you and your whole family only for one reason alone, to get every crypto you have in your wallet.

If only privacy is given the topmost priority, this kind of stories will be stopped already.

People chase money, fame and at the same time they undervalue importance of privacy which in fact is not only important but vital. Losing privacy possibly results in physical attacks that can harm their bodies physically and worst take away their life.

People must understand why Privacy matters, not only for privacy but also for their life safety.
Database of Physical Attacks Against Crypto Holders.
https://stats.gart.io/
The bitcoiner’s guide to physical security.
How to protect your bitcoin from $5 wrench attacks.
Can duress wallets stop physical attacks on your bitcoin?

[X-ray]

Can't imagine if I were in that position, these wrench attacks are getting more horrifying by the days and the hardware wallet makers are still so lax about their data retention rule and 3rd party data keeping.

Considering how many hardware wallet data customers have been leaked so far, not between years but only between months, we should be more alerted about these wrench attacks.

Even not being loudmouth isn't enough these days because our data got leaked with shipping information, phone numbers, etc. It's actually worse than simply being a loudmouth because your data is constantly viewed by dangerous people every day.

[Darker45]

Here's the price to pay for being your own bank.

However, what's extremely sad about this is that some, or perhaps many, of the victims are fed to the criminals by the very companies that take pride in their products that supposed to protect them, their funds.

It's extremely ironic that people are attacked, funds stolen, because of the failures of companies offering safety and security. When leaks happen, they'd even defend that no funds are compromised, that the security of their system is intact, that it's the third-party that's breached, and so on.

[Bryan jessy]

For those robbers to be requesting for cryptocurrency transfer from their victims then I am sure this people must have linked their involvement in cryptocurrency to someone out there, most times all this attacks are planned by someone they know very well or a relative whom they trusted so much, whether relative or not things like this should be kept from others ears because is not everyone that will be happy for you, because once some persons hears that you are into crypto, and you have some cryptocurrencies they will believe a person is rich and start envying the person, that is what could lead to planing this kind of attack because of jealousy, they feel the person now have everything and is living a good life.

[Oasisman]

When incidents like this reached the news, it will give other criminals an idea on what other things they can steal. Bitcoin is one of the most interesting asset to steal because they do not need to physically carry it while fleeing, infact, they can carry it wherever they will go without anyone knowing it.

I guess people who owns huge amount of Bitcoin and other crypto should be very careful now, avoiding being the next target. We should take the word "anonymity" seriously these days (virtually and physically) as the cases like this continue to rise. 

[Zlantann]

When incidents like this reached the news, it will give other criminals an idea on what other things they can steal. Bitcoin is one of the most interesting asset to steal because they do not need to physically carry it while fleeing, infact, they can carry it wherever they will go without anyone knowing it.

I guess people who owns huge amount of Bitcoin and other crypto should be very careful now, avoiding being the next target. We should take the word "anonymity" seriously these days (virtually and physically) as the cases like this continue to rise. 

With the series of leaks that have happened in the past few years. I don't blame people when they are attacked. Their information might have been leaked through wallet providers, middlemen, or logistics companies. I guess people are more enlightened about security, so they wouldn't publicly expose that they own crypto.

Nobody knows who will be next. Therefore, it is essential to have several layers of security, like keeping funds in more than one wallet.

[lovesmayfamilis]

Everytime I read about one of these wrench attacks, my mind immediately goes to the bitcoin family, I don’t know how they have managed to stay safe from criminals when the whole world knows they are rich in bitcoin.

Maybe in these cases it is necessary to declare that their bitcoin wallets are stored in safes in the bank, as philipma1957 did. At least, such a statement will be a barrier for the robbers, although it is not a fact. We have heard other stories where young people, in order to show off to their friends, claimed their non-existent assets, after which the robbers did not believe that the guys were just joking. Anyone who starts breaking into other people's homes is already willing to do a lot for money, so whether they get what they want or not, the end sometimes turns out to be quite sad for the owners of the places where the robbers break in. And yes, smart people are proud of what they have in their heads-intelligence and abilities-while stupid people "improve" by bragging..

[Faisal2202]

there are tens of thousands of leaked trezor addresses mine is leaked> I routinely get fishing letters in the mail to my home address and my email.

My trezor is locked at the bank in a safety box  basically I can not be the only one listed as having a trezor.

That must be frightening if the letter has already been sent to you guys. I think the attackers would wait for several years, at least until the time is right, but they are impatient.

What measures are you taking? Have you reported it to the authorities or the bank so they know what has happened and can be careful? For example, when you come to collect it all, if you try to withdraw a huge sum from the bank (which is not the case here, as you have locked something, not money), the bank might think something has happened, like someone is forcing you to do it.

In short, if you have watched the Ozark series, it's about money laundering. The first few episodes have this kind of scene. I didn't know they did that as well. Anyway, I don't know about you, but I can't imagine what I would do in this situation. I'd probably go and live somewhere else.

[SatoPrincess]

Everytime I read about one of these wrench attacks, my mind immediately goes to the bitcoin family, I don’t know how they have managed to stay safe from criminals when the whole world knows they are rich in bitcoin.

Maybe in these cases it is necessary to declare that their bitcoin wallets are stored in safes in the bank, as philipma1957 did. At least, such a statement will be a barrier for the robbers, although it is not a fact. We have heard other stories where young people, in order to show off to their friends, claimed their non-existent assets, after which the robbers did not believe that the guys were just joking. Anyone who starts breaking into other people's homes is already willing to do a lot for money, so whether they get what they want or not, the end sometimes turns out to be quite sad for the owners of the places where the robbers break in. And yes, smart people are proud of what they have in their heads-intelligence and abilities-while stupid people "improve" by bragging..

Here is the dilemma, the Gen Z culture is very much about putting your day to day life and business out there for the world to see. I doubt they are going to change even after seeing others get attacked for exposing their bitcoin hodlings onlines. Their insatiable need for likes and validation from strangers on the internet won’t let them use their common sense.

[KiaKia]

This is what I have been talking about, the future crimes will no longer be offline related, it will be crimes of digital currencies and Bitcoin, once you are related to crypto you are automatically a target.

Thank God it's in the US, they have all the resources they can use to get these people, camera everywhere in the streets, unlike some developing countries, if these two criminals are in my country they would get away with this crime.

People will struggle to erase their involvement with crypto in the future to avoid becoming a target, this is also why I believe that KYC verification will have to be limited or avoid completely.

[SOKO-DEKE]

It is some cryptocurrency holders who attract thieves or scammers to themselves because some of them are the ones who discuss their cryptocurrency investments in public or with people who are not supposed to know about them.But some people seem to find no peace within themselves if they don't show off what they have. If not, what is the point of showing off something you are holding when you know there are many envious people everywhere who are ready to do anything to take what someone has? By force, they don't even care if it costs someone their life.So, if someone values what they have and their life, it is better to always keep what they own a secret and avoid discussing it with anyone, except someone they trust so much. Even then, there should be a good reason for sharing such information even with someone we trusted much

[Finebone]

This is now an everyday, weekly or monthly occurrence in our society, and it is as a result of the inability of people keeping quiet when they should, because people cannot attack, robb or fight what they don't know about, which is why it's very important that as a Bitcoin investors, we should try to stay private, because by making it known that you are a bitcoin investor, it  is like telling people that you you have some cash with you, which is putting your life and that of your family at risk.  So until Bitcoin investors learn the act of keeping quiet and stop telling people of their Bitcoin holdings, news like this will never stop anytime soon.

[Lucius]

@greysonz, does this news have anything to do with Bitcoin? This is a Bitcoin discussion board and only topics related to it should be here.

[Promocodeudo]

When i read stories like this, the first thing that come to my mind is privacy, anything about cryptocurrency is meant to kept secret, it is obvious that people put themselves into problems by revealing some sensitive things to people, if not, how did this guys got the information that this particular house own such cryptocurrency hodlings, I think someone would've leaked the secret to this guy's that made the family a target, this is now a repeated something, does it mean that people do not longer take their security serious, this will continue to happen as long as hodlers continue to make themselves available for possible attack by refusing to keep shut.

[SquirrelJulietGarden]

When i read stories like this, the first thing that come to my mind is privacy, anything about cryptocurrency is meant to kept secret, it is obvious that people put themselves into problems by revealing some sensitive things to people, if not, how did this guys got the information that this particular house own such cryptocurrency hodlings, I think someone would've leaked the secret to this guy's that made the family a target, this is now a repeated something, does it mean that people do not longer take their security serious, this will continue to happen as long as hodlers continue to make themselves available for possible attack by refusing to keep shut.

Privacy is important because if other people don't know about you, your activities like Bitcoin and cryptocurrency investment and holding, they will less likely put you under their radars for possible online hacks or physical attacks.

Keeping your privacy is like a best prevention against any online hacks and physical attacks, while it can help you to have a safer life.
Manage your bitcoin like a whale.
21 tips for securing your bitcoin.

[Mrbluntzy]

The prison term that they were given should have been more than 15 years because people like that do not deserve to be in the society. According to U.S. Department of Justice, these two brothers are aged 24 and 25,  so I think 30 or 40 years prison term would have been better so that before they will be out, they are old already and would not have the intention of going back to commit such a crime.

What is worth mentioning in this case is that the two brothers had a source that gave them the information of the victim's crypto transaction history because the victim said it that he believes his information was gotten through a data breach of the centralized platform he have used or still using. This is yet another case that should remind Bitcoiners to prioritize privacy.

 

[red4slash]

Again and again situations like this are hard to avoid for those who have assets and are known by others. Even if we are careful with seed in the end there are always people who try in the most extreme ways like this.

For now crypto, especially bitcoin, has always been targeted because of profits and higher values so our caution is not only about how we keep the private key or seed but also keep us always hiding ourselves from others so as not to be suspected of owning crypto.
With some cases that always happen now this should be a slap to those who sometimes always be a show off as an option just because they want great prestige from the views of others because the more we expose ourselves the more at risk we are because we could be targeted by people who are not responsible as many cases of hostage, kidnapping, extortion as we have seen before.