WSJ: Dozens of Cryptocurrency Firm Owners Kidnapped Around the World

Attacks and kidnappings of cryptocurrency firm owners and businessmen's family members have become more frequent in different parts of the world. The criminals want ransom - they demand that the victims' digital assets be transferred to their accounts. This was reported by The Wall Street Journal.

Investors, cryptocurrency company bosses and their relatives fall into the clutches of kidnappers. For example, criminals made an unsuccessful kidnapping attempt in France, where they tried to kidnap the daughter of the Paymium crypto exchange, threatening her and her child with a weapon.

It was possible to avoid "captivity" only because the husband and neighbors intervened in the situation. Over time, the publication emphasizes, crimes are committed not only in a more organized manner, but also in a more sophisticated manner - encrypted messengers are used, and the criminals themselves act according to pre-planned schemes.

The victims include people from different countries - Australia, France and the USA. Some victims are beaten and tortured by criminals. According to experts, the increase in the number of such crimes is explained by the rise in the price of digital currencies and leaks of personal data from the databases of crypto companies.

Earlier, it was reported that two brothers were arrested in the United States who, according to the version of prosecutors, devised and carried out the first-of-its-kind attack on the Ethereum cryptocurrency. They stole $25 million in 12 seconds.

It also became known that one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges suffered a theft of $1.1 billion. The attackers hacked one of the Ethereum cold wallets on the platform. They were able to bypass the security system by replacing the transaction data. Although all participants saw the correct address when signing, they actually confirmed the change to the smart contract, which allowed the hackers to withdraw the funds.