Cryptocurrency traders are increasingly becoming targets of kidnapping and extortion, with a recent surge in cases

Crypto traders are increasingly being targeted for kidnapping and extortion, as highlighted by several cases reported in recent weeks. French police rescued a man tied to a car trunk in Le Mans after kidnappers demanded a ransom from his son, a cryptocurrency influencer living in Dubai, local media France Bleu Normandie reported. The incident took place on the evening of January 1, when Le Mans police intercepted a stolen vehicle at a gas station. After opening the trunk, they found a 56-year-old man doused in gasoline. The victim said masked assailants broke into his home on New Year's Eve, kidnapped him and his wife, and transported him nearly 500 kilometers to the country. The kidnappers used crypto networks to demand a ransom from his son. In Pakistan, seven people, including a counter-terrorism department official, were arrested on January 3 for kidnapping a local cryptocurrency trader. The victim, Mohammed Arsalan, was kidnapped on December 25 in Manhopir, Karachi. The kidnappers reportedly forced him to transfer $340,000 through a Binance account before dumping him near the mausoleum of Quaid-i-Azam Mohammed Ali Jinnah. The perpetrators managed to flee the scene and the investigation is still ongoing. Earlier in December, a 24-year-old woman, Catherine Colivas, kidnapped a member of the Saudi Arabian royal family with the help of three accomplices and threatened to cut off his fingers to force him to pay $40,000 in Bitcoin. Although the woman has pleaded guilty, she has not been imprisoned. Catherine Colivas faces up to 25 years in prison at a hearing in Victoria, Australia. She pleaded guilty to kidnapping, extortion, reckless injury, theft and gun charges. However, the judge used her age, growth difficulties, mental health, rehabilitation prospects, and the death of her brother while awaiting trial as reasons for sentencing, believing that her "circumstances are special" and receiving 30 months of community service is sufficient. Meanwhile, Toronto police are still investigating the kidnapping of Dean Skurka, CEO of Canadian cryptocurrency exchange WonderFi. Skurka was kidnapped during rush hour in downtown Toronto on November 6 and was released after a $1 million ransom was paid electronically, CBC News reported. According to blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis, ransomware gangs extorted more than $1.1 billion in cryptocurrency from victims in 2023. (Cointelegraph)