- Traders flaunting luxury purchases and profits across social media are realising they’re the perfect target for criminals.
- These criminals are increasingly using these digital breadcrumbs to unmask and target wealthy crypto holders.
- With Bitcoin’s rise has come a surge in brutal “wrench attacks”, which are kidnappings, home invasions, and violent coercion aimed at forcing victims to surrender their crypto assets.
Showing off wealth in crypto is increasingly turning into a real-world safety risk, as traders and crypto influencers often live online in Telegram, Discord, Reddit and X, where they share gains, memes and expensive purchases like cars and watches.
Those same posts make it easier for criminals to link usernames to real people, locations and lifestyles. As crypto prices have risen over the past few years, there has been a rise in “wrench attacks”, Bloomberg notes.
Those are basically kidnappings, home invasions and beatings where attackers force victims to hand over their coins. Recent examples include a trader kidnapped in New York, an attempted abduction in Paris, and an US$11 million (AU$16 million) theft in San Francisco.
Related: AFP ‘Crypto Safe Cracker’ Unlocks US$5.9 Million Wallet in Landmark Digital Forensics Breakthrough
Crypto Traders Spending More on Security
As this risk grows, more crypto traders are hiring security companies, Bloomberg notes. These firms search the internet for traces of clients’ home addresses, assets and family, then work to remove or reduce that information.
They warn that something as simple as a family photo or a tagged location can give attackers everything they need. Companies that normally protect executives and high-net-worth individuals are now offering similar services to people in crypto, and they report sharp growth in demand from exchange employees, founders and traders.
Overall, crypto crime never rests. It’s pretty much an organised type of crime as well. In October, the US and the UK launched a joint enforcement campaign against Chen Zhi, the founder of the Prince Group Transnational Crime Organization (that’s the actual name), and several affiliated firms involved in crypto-related fraud.
Read more: Tether-Backed Twenty One Capital Slumps on Trading Debut Despite Bitcoin Rally
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