Criminal gangs are getting more and more creative when it comes to committing a crime. Recently, one of the criminal gangs actually kidnapped a teenage boy. They demanded that the ransom should be paid in Bitcoin. The amount which was demanded was $ 120,000.
According to the spokesperson of police, Katlego Marite was dragged into the car when he was playing with his friends. The town from which he was kidnapped is in the Mpumalanga South African Province. According to a news channel, the demand of the ransom is of 15 Bitcoins. Unfortunately, the parents of the kid, do not even know about Bitcoins. They are not dealing in Bitcoins or any other cryptocurrency.
Even though kidnappings are quite common in South Africa but this is the 1st time around that the ransom demand is made in Bitcoin or cryptocurrency. It is also a 1st on the continent. That is why authorities are not sure how to track down the kidnappers. Also, if the kidnappers stick to their demand that the ransom to be paid in Bitcoins, it will lead to an anonymous transaction. As a result, authorities will surely find it difficult to track down the kidnappers as well.
This also poses a unique problem for the parents as well. The parents do not know anything about Bitcoin. They do not know the procedure to acquire Bitcoin as well. As a result, it is actually pretty difficult for them to raise the Bitcoins for the release of their son. Now only could the police help them. The police are also baffled by the demand for the ransom to be paid in Bitcoins. This is the reason why they have not planned the next step as well. Only when the police are able to help the parents in arranging the Bitcoins or finding some other way to release the boy, the parents will be able to go ahead and meet their child. This is the reason why they need to look into this case differently as compared to some of the other cases.
Around the world, criminal gangs are switching over to cryptocurrencies as well as Bitcoin due to the anonymity which they provide. If indeed, ransoms are paid in currencies like Monero or ZCash, it will be very difficult for the authorities to catch the criminals. Most of these cryptocurrencies are actually entirely anonymous and therefore tracing down the criminal gangs will be a very difficult task. This is the reason why the authorities are getting confused when criminal gangs are switching over to cryptocurrencies.
