View this post on Hive: Bitcoin or "Bit O Coin" - Kidnapping Children for Bitcoin Ransom in South Africa
Bitcoin or "Bit O Coin" - Kidnapping Children for Bitcoin Ransom in South Africa
7 years ago by joanstewart (65)
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First, it's great that the boy was returned safely. I imagine that with something like bitcoin, given that it requires knowing more "things" than just cash, therefore maybe there's a kind of scale in how many "things" are known by the general population.
Using random numbers, maybe 75% of the world heard of bitcoin and its value; 20% kind of knows that it needs special addresses; 10% know realize its traceability, security; 8% know more on top of that; etc
So with this theory, they're in the 20% that kind of knows the 'addressing' part but they haven't moved up the next 'knowledge' rung on the ladder
(as with all things I could be wildly wrong)
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At a wild guess I would say your numbers are probably within reason @motordrive this is a wake up call to everyone not to shout from the rooftops about their choice of lifestyle which could affect family.
This is not the first instance in the world, will definitely not the the last.
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I agree with you in that I do not think the kidnappers understand cryptocurrency at all. There is a lot of disinformation out there.
It is shocking how at risk we are. It is a fulltime job to keep our children safe and not one we should neglect, ever. As always, knowledge is our biggest weapon with which to arm ourselves in defence of ourselves and our children.
But I know I am preaching to the choir @joanstewart. It is your thing.
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In this case they may have some knowledge, but as the saying goes "a little knowledge can be dangerous", it is scary to think children are being used, a case I would like to hear the final outcome.
Your comment as always appreciated @reonlouw
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I do agree that this wouldn't work out for the average criminal trying to move Bitcoin back to fiat.
I don't want to give anyone any ideas of but they would either need to force someone under duress to cash in the Bitcoin on their behalf or they would have to convert it for ZCash or Monero and then spit it up and convert it back into BTC making a bit of a loss but they could sort of "Clear the trail" if you will and get their fiat
They could also send the Bitcoin to dark web suppliers and purchase things like drugs in exchange.
There are potential loopholes we should be aware of when looking to improve the cryptocurrency protocal. I'd like to see things like a smart contract ID verification attached on a side chain. For example what Civic is doing and then using NULS as a module to add onto a blockchain or as a secondary segwit. That way we can make transactions identifiable for public use between peers.
This is a horrible situation and I really feel for the family and the boy, this is not why I want South Africa making cryptocurrency headlines.
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Kidnapping a child is just terrible but using Bitcoin for the ransom payment shows the kidnappers have now idea that Bitcoins can be traced.
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Sounds like they were trying something new without enough knowledge on blockchain technology especially using Bitcoin @sydesjokes
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I can rack up my head up to think a kidnapper asking of bitcoinas payment....it seems as kidnapping as gotten all branded up because i am still dumbfounded.....
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New tricks by thugs will arise with new technology @awodsode
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Comentar con al menos 20 palabras me parece una buena idea. Me alegro de el niño este a salvo. Estos secuestradores son mas bien de poca monta.
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Los comentarios adecuados indican que una persona ha leído el contenido. Una advertencia a todos los padres para que tengan cuidado con lo que dicen y hacen, gracias por sus comentarios, apreciados @bon-nom (Google Translator used to reply)
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Whaaat?! True or not, this story is shocking. It is something to look into especially for those who are handling big amounts of bitcoin because kidnappers nowadays are very much updated already.
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Very true @rubelynmacion I will watch out for the results from our Police force, it will be interesting once the investigation has been completed.
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First, Im glad that the boy is safe.
From my pov, clearly the man has little knowledge of the rules/laws around bitcoin. He probably only knows that 1 btc = a few thousand dollars.
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Appreciate your comments and view @fleurinna thanks for visiting
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We do not have that many BTC, is BCN ok?
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LOL @zakludick totally agree.
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The story sounds very suspect, and I do get a lot of scam emails requesting me to send bitcoin, otherwise, they will hack my pc, publish nude photos of me and all sorts of stuff. I think what has to be remembered, that when it comes to finances, you should NEVER share your bitcoin interests on your social media, bragging gets you noticed, and being noticed makes you a target.
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Scam email and phone calls daily over here @socialmediaseo have to double check everything before hitting a button on a keyboard.
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We live in a sick world. Greedy people see opportunities everywhere. Sometimes thinking what if all these people would do the same effort for something good. How about these dudes asking ransome from child traffickers?
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Greed seems to be an ever growing problem @damiana
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I agree
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This is the weirdest kidnap for ransom I've ever heard! I believe the kidnappers know nothing about bitcoin! It's as if they are asking for a marked money!!! Hahaha! 😂😂😂
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Exactly my feelings @gingbabida
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it so sad to see how criminals leveraging on this crypto trend , I hope it does not give rise to other criminal activities demanding crypto
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Thanks for comment, have a great day @asyrafahamed
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We really live in a sick world. Even if this story is a hoax it's a scary reality for so many people both here in SA and around the world. As a parent it's sad that my kids can't enjoy the freedom I had while growing up. I won't even let them play in the front yard if I'm not with them.
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I felt the same way 20 years ago with my children @jusipasetti used to shop with my children on 'leads', children used to disappear in shopping centers.
Miss the days we ran bare foot in the veld without a worry in the world.
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Yip it really is sad that as parents we need to be so extra vigilant. Good old days indeed.
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I totally agreed with you, Parents should take extra caution on how they express themselves on social media because they might never have an idea the danger they are putting some innocent people to... Great post joan!
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Family photo's and private matters should never go online, children need phones to connect with parents, geo-location must be switched off.
This world is technical, children start sharing location and 'selfies' next thing you know you have a problem. Now we add to this crypto parents speaking about their 'wealth' this is a sad fact of life today, everything is connected via social media.
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Oh my goodness, what next? This is very good advice:
Thank you for sharing!
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My pleasure @hope777 have a wonderful safe day.
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Im glad that the boy is now safe. Woudnt be surprise if that happens in different country
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This could happen anywhere, thanks for stopping in to read @bigmike420
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Cash would have been so much easier, I would think? Something's a bit fishy about this story, but I guess it could still be true. Maybe the victims must have been sharing information about their Bitcoins or something? Very weird to say the least.
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Very fishy @daan not the brightest in town, hope the police 'nail' them, set an example of them so others don't follow.
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Could it be that some clown wants to make Seffricans aware of bitcoin? Surely by now everyone is going to be asking what bitcoin is? Even if it is a hoaqx, or a fake news story, bitcoin is going to enjoy much publicity! Blessings and upvoted!
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Very true @papilloncharity it should raise public awareness about possible changes coming.
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podria varias aqui en mexico paso algo similar pero no funciono porque usaron una pagina y pudieron capturar a los secuestradores
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Lamentablemente, me viene a la mente que México tiene un gran crimen al secuestrar niños para pedir rescate. Mantenerse a salvo @oscar21vander (Google translator used)
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En primer lugar me alegro mucho de que el niño se encuentre sano y salvo
Por otra parte, siempre se hace necesario no alardear mucho de lo que haces o dejas de hacer, lo que tienes o dejas de tener. En este mundo hay mucha gente buscando continuamente, diferentes formas de hacer daño al otro. @xintoe
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La codicia lleva a los humanos por caminos extraños. Lo mejor es mantener su información privada, bien privada. Los niños nunca deben ser usados bajo ninguna circunstancia para obtener ganancias, es claramente malvado @xinto
Muy feliz de que este muchacho joven tenga que ir a casa a salvo. (Google translator used)
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I consider it a treat from a known person or a planned work, i would urge the parent to investigate on the matter trough the kidnapped child. Or maybe a fake news either, no one can tell.
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It does sound suspicious @jacobzeema close to home problem.
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hmmp...clear throat, whether it's a hoax or not, the word kidnapping is so nerve-racking that I never wish would happen even to my voracious neighbor.
About the bitcoin thing, for sure it was fake. Just to add color to their fake move...
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Crass stupidity, however a good warning to all @fabio2614
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Great post ! Resteemed 😉
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this is ridiculous. apparently not the first time someone was kidnapped for bitcoin unfortunately. cnn is reporting it, but I haven't found the story on snopes yet. thanks for sharing!
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No further news about the perpetrators, huge hype by media and quiet again @corinneiskorean
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There's so much fake news and horror stories being spread, especially to discredit South Africa, but still a wake up call to be careful as you say! What next hey!
Thanks for sharing this @joanstewart!
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Forewarned is foretold, I think the saying goes @lizelle better to be safe than sorry if you are a parent involved in Bitcoin.
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For sure @joanstewart!
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I can believe it to an extent. I work in the software development industry and the number of businessmen (with BEE status) that are educated on Bitcoin and want apps developed re crytpo currencies is quite astonishing, they really are quite clued up on it! But perhaps they are nt as educated on how the transactions transpire in this case.
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On some points I agree the public are becoming aware on how technology works, when it comes to Bitcoin it is a Public Ledger for all to see.
Moving this number of Bitcoin at a value of 1BTC to ZAR123 000 on the day would raise red flags, would definitely not go unnoticed IMHO.
Bitcoin is traceable, many cryptocurrencies are not, it all depends on how developed to work within the blockchain.
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It is an interesting point you raise and there is undoubtedly all kinds of misinformation being spread around cryptos by government agencies as well as people trying to manipulate the market. This story does indeed smell of lies. Anybody with an ounce of crypto knowledge would be asking for payment in one of the privacy coins. What makes it smell even more of anti-crypto propaganda is that the article cites 'bitcoin' the one crypto that all mainstream people have heard off. Anyway, that's my 10 cents ;-)
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Media hype bad news, spreading concern among people who do not know, it is sad since these people would rather walk away due to this bad news.
All boils down to lack of education IMHO.
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Hi @joanstewart!
Yeah, they did not think everything through. Most regular people may know about bitcoin, but almost nobody has any experience with it.
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Thanks for your thoughts @jgvinstl I tend to agree.
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Are these guys for real?? This is a very dumb move. They could easily get caught. Thank God nothing happened to the kids.
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Be aware of what you broadcast, you never know who is listening! -A vital lesson to be learned by everyone. Thanks @joanstewart.
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Yes, social media can be a dangerous place. We never know who is reading and watching us. The wisest thing to do is to not share too many information online.
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