An influencer who transformed from a gaming streamer to a 'forex trader' reported being kidnapped, with approximately $170,000 in cash and cryptocurrency transferred from the exchange. Currently, two suspects have been arrested, and one is still at large. However, some netizens have exposed the influencer's dark history, revealing that three years ago, they promoted a scheme promising '90% monthly returns,' after which the project team absconded with the funds.
Cryptocurrency influencer falls victim to a setup kidnapping, losing $170,000 in cryptocurrency.
The influencer shared his kidnapping experience on IG, stating that the perpetrators approached him under the pretext of wanting to exchange trading insights. The two met at a Starbucks near his residence for nearly an hour, and the atmosphere seemed harmonious, but the other party had long planned the crime. They lured him to the parking lot under the pretext of bringing a gift from Japan, and suddenly two accomplices rushed out from the bushes, hit him on the head, and sprayed pepper spray, forcibly taking him to the car.
He pointed out that the kidnappers bound his hands with straps and blindfolded him with tape, forcing him to sell all the spot trading assets in the exchange, converting them to USDT for transfer, ultimately to his account. Afterwards, the kidnappers dumped him at Taoyuan Airport. The victim had already commissioned a lawyer to report to the police that day and sought assistance from local representatives.
Domestic media reports indicated that after the victim was forced to transfer 90,000 and about 170,000 USDT of virtual currency into an account, two suspects were arrested within 24 hours of the incident, while one remains at large.
Netizens have revealed that the influencer had previously promoted a Ponzi scheme, claiming a monthly return of 90%.
Unexpectedly, some netizens uncovered that the kidnapped influencer had a history of promoting Ponzi schemes. The influencer initially started as a gaming streamer, playing games like Arena of Valor and Slam Dunk, before transitioning to cryptocurrency, forex, and Texas Hold'em.
At that time, the influencer had promoted a scheme claiming that if money was deposited for 60 days, a monthly return of 90% would be obtained. Unsurprisingly, the project absconded with the funds after a wave of profits. One streamer even revealed that the influencer had large and small groups. After discovering issues with the project, he first informed the small group, seemingly intending to exploit the larger group's fans.
The influencer also gave up on explaining, commenting below: 'It's fine, there's nothing to explain, if you make money, you make money. It’s hard not to make money after playing for four months, I never said I was scammed; that would be too lame.' Afterwards, the influencer admitted in a video that accepting such sponsorships was a mistake but also refuted some false accusations.
The influencer had filmed a video in June revealing that their monthly commission from the exchange was only $250, and also disclosed that their assets in the exchange were about $250,000. Perhaps due to the influencer's persona in the cryptocurrency space and their visibility, they were targeted by criminals. It is still important to remind everyone to keep their wealth concealed and that protecting personal safety is the best strategy.
(Was Bitcoin the incentive for the kidnapping? A well-known cryptocurrency investor imprisoned and abused an Italian man to extort his password.)
Moreover, one should maintain a skeptical attitude towards any display of wealth. A TikTok financial influencer with over 40,000 followers was recently kidnapped by four people on the way home, only to discover upon opening the exchange account that the influencer was poorer than the kidnappers, which ultimately saved their life.
(French cryptocurrency influencer kidnapped! TikTok KOL forcibly taken to extort cryptocurrency.)
This article reports that a Taiwanese cryptocurrency influencer was set up and kidnapped, losing $170,000 in cryptocurrency! The community has exposed the black history of promoting Ponzi schemes, first appearing in Chain News ABMedia.
