A crypto miner in Izhevsk, Russia, was abducted, adding to the growing list of incidents where players in the cryptocurrency industry have been the victims of hacking attempts, rug pulls, and even physical threats to their lives.

According to Ren TV’s report on December 27, a criminal gang kidnapped a 23-year-old bitcoin miner from his front yard on December 25 and fled in a car belonging to a Perm retiree on December 27.

Subsequently, the kidnappers—one of them knew the victim—contacted his brother over Telegram and demanded a ransom of fifteen million rubles, or around $166,000. If the kidnapping victim did not comply, they threatened to drug him and turn him over to the authorities.

But the cops were able to track down and capture the offenders in no time. They face up to twelve years in jail and a criminal record that includes robbery and extortion convictions.

The fact that thieves have previously targeted professionals in the crypto sector is interesting. For example, in December of last year, five individuals abducted, forcibly confined, and assaulted Aiden Pleterski, the self-proclaimed “crypto king” of Ontario.

The CEO of Binance, Changpeng Zhao, recently made the announcement that a customer of the exchange had executives kidnapped and forced to drain their cryptocurrency accounts, resulting in a loss of around $12.5 million. The crypto trading site froze around $11.8 million, which is a relief.

John Forsyth, a crypto billionaire and missing emergency room doctor, had a more terrible scenario in May when his death was found in the Missouri Ozarks. Nevertheless, his loved ones learned of his abduction and subsequent release in February 2022 from a common acquaintance, who the source said had something to do with “crypto-related” cases.

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