On January 3rd, in the Greek town of Kalivia, two unidentified individuals abducted a 29-year-old programmer in an attempt to steal cryptocurrency. This was reported by local media.
The victim was stopped under the pretense of a police check. He was then handcuffed, placed in a car, and taken to a forested area.
There, the assailants seized two mobile phones, a wallet, house keys, and forced him to reveal the PIN codes for his bank cards and unlock access to his cryptocurrency wallet app. The kidnappers subsequently transferred assets worth €3000 to their account.
The programmer was bound with duct tape and handcuffed to the car’s steering wheel, but managed to free himself. He reached the nearest gas station, called the police, and informed his family about the incident.
According to media reports, one of the suspects, a 25-year-old Moldovan, has been apprehended.
In late December 2023, a gang of extortionists kidnapped a bitcoin miner in Izhevsk, demanding a ransom of 15 million rubles.