Passing neighbor rescues women imprisoned in crypto kidnapping

"With the help of a passing neighbor, a woman and her mother were able to escape from the garage they were imprisoned in a cryptocurrency-linked kidnapping, police in southern France said. The pair had been held for 30 hours before they were able to take advantage of their captor's absence to pound on the garage door. A neighbor who heard the noise opened the door to free them, Lyon prosecutor Thierry Dran said in a press conference after the escape"

"Two days later, six people were arrested, according to BFMTV. Most are in their 20s; one is a minor. The women ages 35 and 67 were taken to a hospital after their escape for treatment of unspecified injuries. The case renews focus on the recent rise in crypto-linked kidnappings in France and elsewhere, often involving high-profile individuals and those linked to them. Searches are ongoing in the United States after the disappearance of 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie, mother of Today host Savannah Guthrie."

"Some believe bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are untraceable and therefore useful in ransom demands but experts say this is a misconception. Crypto works on a blockchain, and the blockchain is a public registry where everything is visible, everything is trackable and everything is auditable, Renaud Lifchitz, a French IT senior security consultant, told CNN last year. Last week, Juan Andres Guerrero-Saade, vice president for intelligence and security research at SentinelOne, told CNN that bitcoin is one of the most traceable currencies we've ever had."

A woman aged 35 and her 67-year-old mother were held in a garage for 30 hours in a cryptocurrency-linked kidnapping in Bourg-les-Valence, southern France. They escaped by pounding the garage door during their captor's absence and a passing neighbor opened the door to free them. Both women were taken to hospital for treatment of unspecified injuries. Authorities arrested six people two days later, most in their twenties and one a minor. The daughter's husband reportedly received a ransom demand in cryptocurrency threatening mutilation. Investigators noted that cryptocurrencies operate on public blockchains, which are trackable despite common misconceptions.

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