Kidnappers to Release a Belgian Backpacker for $300,000 BTC

BYRON BAY, Australia – Kidnappers abducts a Belgian backpacker named Theo Hayez on May 31. As for the progress, kidnappers want $300,000 Bitcoin (BTC) in exchange for the teenager.

During Hayez’s visit to Australia, citizens last saw him as he left a Cheeky Monkey in Byron Bay before the abduction on May 31. Afterward, a publicized search was conducted with law enforcement authorities, locals, and some fans who joined as well.

As per The Lighthouse, this news medium informed that Hayez’s family received ransom messages from the said kidnappers. The victim’s godfather named Jean-Philippe Pector received the letter, and it came from a man named Mike Larry. It was reported that the abductors are asking the 18-year-old teen’s family to pay $300,000 via Bitcoin.

The kidnapper stated in the letter that they have Hayez and how the kidnapping is not a joke. They also assured that the teenager is fine. Until the family abides with the kidnappers’ request, the boy will remain in Australia.

Pector was shocked after hearing about the status of Hayez. He instantly reported the note to the authorities. He also said that the message he received was similar to other letters that his girlfriend and other family members got. Moreover, he was also advised not to contact any of the kidnappers.

After investigating further, detectives discovered that the letters came from South Africa. They also thought that the abductors were using Virtual Private Networks to hide the location.

Pector also mentioned that he tried searching the name of the kidnapper on Facebook. However, he got nonsense information.

Aside from Hayez’s case, there are also other cryptocurrency misconducts in Australia.

In August, an Australian Citizen named Katherine Nguyen was guilty in thieving approximately $450,000 XRP, which was stolen in January 2018. As per 7News Sydney, a local news channel, she hacked inside a man’s email, and the said man had the same surname as her. From there, she stole the man’s wallet password, and also drained the content entirely.

Despite minimal cryptocurrency crimes, these incidents serve as a warning for the Australian Government to work on this out before it gets out of hand.

On the other hand, Canada used to be welcoming and peaceful to blockchain innovation and cryptocurrencies. However, a rate of thefts and scams began to rise as well. One of these cases is the threat that Kenney Stewart, the Vancouver Mayor, issued, and it’s stated that he could bank Bitcoin (BTC) automated machines or ATMs completely.