On the assumption that there could be cryptocurrency wealth behind the controversial disappearance of a 74-year-old woman, Naipang Hou, the sheriffs in California have already started an investigation into her mysterious disappearance.
The San Bernardino County Sheriff Department is suspecting that the case might be a kidnapping, a scam, and an identity theft case to the crypto wealth of Hou son.
The last time Hou was seen was during the beginning of May after he walked out of his house without taking his mobile phone. His silver Toyota Yaris was found abandoned several days later near one of the hiking trails in Rancho Cucamonga. Two months later on May 4th, he was reported as missing and they now assume that foul play might be involved.
Authorities Investigating Fraud and Identity Theft
The Specialized Investigations Division of the Sheriff Department considered Hou’s disappearance on July 7th. The case was termed suspicious after financial fraud was detected in Hou’s accounts. However, as authorities claim, somebody got access to Hou’s phone and pretended to be him to call relatives.
Investigators believe that the reason Hou’s financial accounts were targeted was that his son was rich in cryptocurrency investments. No arrests have been made so far, although authorities have not discounted abduction.
Family Believes Crime is Crypto-Related
Wen Hou, the son of Naipang Hou, thinks it is related to criminal attempts to obtain his family’s money. Wen has also created a reward of half a million dollars worth of information to help his father recover safely. Since 2019, Wen has served as the Chief Investment Officer of Coincident Capital, a crypto-oriented hedge fund.
He explained to the media that there was no reason his father would disappear and that he was physically and psychologically fine. Wen had his last meeting with his father when they went fishing together just before the disappearance. He got suspicious when his father’s text replies were not as normal as they were.
Crypto Wealth Puts Families at Risk
Experts caution that millions of rich crypto holders tend to become victims of criminals because they are exposed in the community. Most users do not follow simple security measures, and/or have the wrong impression that crypto transactions are anonymous.
This increasingly popular trend is commonly known as wrench attacks where kidnapping or threats are employed to steal crypto assets or seed phrases. Nick Harris, the creator of blockchain forensic company CryptoCare, said 22 of these incidents have been reported across the world in the year 2025.
Law enforcers are using cybercrime units and blockchain forensics teams to track suspicious activities. The case is still under investigation, and investigators are following leads because the search for Naipang Hou has not ended.
The post California Sheriffs Launch Investigations into Crypto-Linked Disappearance first appeared on Coinfea.