A Ukrainian cryptocurrency trader just became the latest victim of a violent robbery in Thailand, where he lost 250,000 USDT in what law officials describe as a rapidly growing class of crypto-related crime that spans digital and physical worlds.
The incident happened when the victim, Mr Leibov, went to a hotel room he believed his friend had occupied. What initially seemed like a friendly encounter turned sour when masked assailants ambushed him in the bathroom and tied him up with ropes and cable ties. The attackers threatened him with tools such as a hammer and a knife and forced him to transfer cryptocurrency from his digital wallet worth more than 8.5 million baht (more than $244,000).
Within days of the robbery, Thai authorities arrested four suspects in a show of swift justice. Police investigations revealed that one of the arrested individuals was a regular cryptocurrency customer of Leibov, indicating that the attack was premeditated based on prior knowledge of his digital assets.
This incident comes at a time when crimes of various kinds involving cryptocurrency have increased dramatically. According to the Federal Trade Commission, victims lost approximately $65 million at Bitcoin ATMs in the first half of 2024. There are also advanced cyber threats that target cryptocurrency users. Some contain ‘Clipper malware’, which changes wallet addresses as they make transactions.
The cryptocurrency industry is increasingly a target of conventional criminals and sophisticated organized cybercriminal organizations. The most notable of these is North Korea’s Lazarus Group, which has reportedly expanded its activities to target cryptocurrency companies through extensive phishing campaigns.
