Brazilian mother kidnapped, son must pay ransom in Bitcoin

A shocking “wrench attack” just occurred at #Brazil when four criminals kidnapped the mother of a cryptocurrency trader, forcing her son to pay more than 600,000 USD in Bitcoin (approximately 5 BTC) for her release.

According to local media, the victim – a retired teacher – was intercepted by a group of two men and two women in Recife in March, after they had monitored her son's activities on social media. The suspects believed she might have access to a large amount of crypto assets.

The woman was held captive and threatened for 12 hours before her son, from Portugal, transferred $BTC to rescue her. Although police arrested the four suspects, officials acknowledged that recovering the transferred BTC is nearly impossible.

Worryingly, this is not an isolated incident. Kidnappings and extortion involving cryptocurrency are on the rise globally. Just this year, numerous cases have been reported in the UK, France, and the US – with some victims even being tortured and having their fingers cut off to force them to hand over their digital wallets.

👉 The incident highlights the real risks of flaunting crypto assets on social media, as it turns traders into targets. Security experts advise users to limit sharing personal information and enhance security measures to avoid becoming the next victim. #anh_ba_cong