Three men were detained in connection with a kidnapping incident that included violence and cryptocurrency theft in Kharkiv, the second-largest city of Ukraine. The national police in Kharkiv revealed that the men were identified by law enforcement officers, who are awaiting trial while being detained as a preventive measure.

Police reports indicate that on October 10, the three men wearing military attire forced the unidentified victim to enter a car with no license plates and transported him to an unknown location.

The three men subdued the victim, beat him, and threatened him with weapons. The victim, who was taken in the vicinity of a currency exchange center, was forced to deliver €14,600 in cash to the kidnappers. Then, he was pressured while kept in a basement for several hours to transfer $83,000 worth of USDT to the attackers’ cryptocurrency wallets.

Finally, the victim was dropped off at the side of a road in a neighboring village.

Wrench attacks, which involve physical threat or violence as a compelling show of force for crypto holders to deliver their assets to third parties, have been increasing as bitcoin and cryptocurrency have gone mainstream.

While relatively rare three or four years ago, since 2024, there has been a significant rise in these attacks, with several high-profile cases happening in the U.S. and other countries. I France, Ledger co-founder David Balland was kidnapped and had one of his fingers cut off in January.

By July 10, Jameson Lopp, who has been following this attack vector on crypto holders, stated that there were at least 230 known attacks and predicted that there would be at least 1 attack per week.

The surge of this new threat makes high-profile bitcoiners vulnerable to attackers, having to allocate resources for personal protection services.

The numerous leaks of information derived from know your customer (KYC) data hacks hint at an increase in these attacks in the short term. Security analysts recommend that cryptocurrency holders maintain a low profile and not disclose their earnings on social media platforms, where they can become targets for criminals.

• What recent crime occurred in Kharkiv involving cryptocurrency?
  Three men were detained for kidnapping a victim, torturing him, and stealing €14,600 and $83,000 in cryptocurrency.
• What actions did the kidnappers take during the incident?
  The men, dressed in military attire, forced the victim into a car, assaulted him, threatened him with weapons, and kept him captive to execute the cryptocurrency transfer.
• How do such attacks relate to the rise of cryptocurrency?
  Wrench attacks have increased alongside the mainstream popularity of cryptocurrencies, with attackers resorting to violence to extract assets from holders.
• What precautions should cryptocurrency holders take in light of rising threats?
  Security analysts advise maintaining a low profile and avoiding disclosing cryptocurrency earnings on social media to reduce vulnerability to potential attacks.

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