Bitcoin, ransom issues, globalization, safety, and effects

In a lot of places, people are being taken hostage and their families are asked for Bitcoin as ransom. It's honestly really upsetting. Anyone involved with blockchain tech should keep that info to themselves; sharing it with friends or family isn’t wise. Don't forget, Bitcoin is a valuable asset that needs to be safeguarded. I think it’s not a good idea to trade my Bitcoin locally when there are better global options out there. Using a domestic exchange also feels risky to me. For instance, if I’m in the UK, I’d look for exchanges outside of the UK. Local exchanges carry a lot of risk since many are scams, and sometimes even the owners may not realize it. They could gather your personal data, reach out to you, and potentially put you in harm's way. So yeah, I’d rather use a reliable exchange located in another country than a popular one right here at home. Plus, this keeps the Bitcoin ecosystem more global.

Regardless of the where the exchange is located, KYC can be extremely dangerous. If possible there are ways you can avoid it, like using decentralized exchanges, that is the best. People from United States, UK and EU still have many ads on most decenlized exchanges that I have visited.

Is it really that high already to be at a crisis level? I see only a handful of posts across several months of such attacks, mostly involving high profile personalities and not everyday users. If you are trading to fiat through P2P you will have to connect with someone in your country who is using the same currency as you are. This can be done on a foreign exchange but the other party has to be from yours. - Jay -

What do these two sentences have in common? So, if you tell your relatives, say, that your job involves technologies like blockchain (which doesn't guarantee payment through bitcoin), will they (the relatives) take themselves hostage? In how many places? And what about those who work with "blockchain technology" when looking for a job? Is it okay to share this information with HR and headhunters? But what if there are malicious users among your nicknames? Learn to clearly articulate your thoughts. Thanks, Cap. Are you willing to travel to another country just to exchange bitcoin? Because any "global trading opportunity" will leave a digital trace of your transaction, and you'll have to exchange it for electronic money in the traditional system (or vice versa). Could you tell us more about fraudulent exchanges where the owners themselves are unaware that the exchange is fraudulent? Is this a case where the police caught the owner of a fraudulent exchange, and that owner claims to have no knowledge of the fraudulent? The only advantage of this is that the local regulator will not know that you have crypto assets. How? Bitcoin's global reach is supported by active users worldwide.

Most abduction or attacks isn't as a result of data collected over exchanges but the kind of publicity these people initiate about their being in crypto. Last year an only Fans model was attacked at home after she displayed her crypto abundance online. I believe the security starts with the investor being privacy minded with his crypto holdings because you don't know who's watching. If you go public with your holdings or tell people around about what you've, then they'll be coming for you to relieve you of your possession and if they cannot get to you directly, it's a common practice that they'll kidnap someone very close to you and demand your asset before release. Even in decentralized exchanges, if you're initiating P2P, it's still someone from your country that would take your orders, so your account details still points to you, I don't believe it's more about data released, but the privacy practice of the crypto enthusiast, most merchants would rarely have the time to track you physically. Although, it's still possible the platform sells the users data to the dark net or it gets leaked through some series of data beaches like we've seen a lot from Ledger recently.

I agree with what others said. Any exchange with KYC = risks in the future to come. Country isn't really the main matter in that.

This is not about the matter you believe or you do not believe, it is good for the OP to know that as long as he gets verified on an exchange, there is possibility that the data can be known to the bad people in one way or the other. Neither am I saying it can lead to ransom attack but there is possibility that it can happen.

Situations like that do not only happen on exchanges. Other platforms, such as banks can also experience situations like that. Would you also use a bank from another country?  People use local exchanges for trading, perhaps because of convenience. Besides, are all the exchanges registered in your country really that untrustworthy?  If you really want to protect your personal information, you might need to consider trading on a decentralized exchange platform. You do not need to submit your personal information.

I don't think that the problem lies in you using an exchange that is operating within your country of residence. What I have come to realize in most of the cases about kidnapped which is Linked to Bitcoin is that the individuals involved were not conscious of their environment and started drawing attention to themselves. When you tell people that you are into Bitcoin you attract unnecessary attention from your environment. Criminal minded people will not notice you if you don't attract them by your lifestyle and the way to talk to people about Bitcoin and crypto currency. Do the lesson we all should have from this is that keep a low profile as possible to stop unnecessary attention from others from noticing you as someone who is into Bitcoin because, there is this believe system about Bitcoin which is not true that every one into Bitcoin is rich some people are just starting their Bitcoin journey and is not rich.

The bottom line is that everyone needs to adhere to a strict policy of privacy and security for themselves and this includes many approaches especially in the "digital age" This includes your computer at home, the smartphone, online logins and passwords, Bitcoin wallet seed phrase and password and KYC for online exchanges. For all the same reasons it is not advised to store your Bitcoin online and in third party platforms we really shouldnt be handing over our personal details to the same and trusting that their systems are 101% secure. It is if you use a peer-to-peer platform where you dont have to provide your personal details

So what's the difference? Do you think that foreign exchanges don't collect your personal information? Any CEX will collect your personal information, there's no CEX that doesn't collect your personal data. As long as they use KYC, your data will be stored by them. If you want more security, there's no option but to use a decentralized exchange. That way, you can exchange your Bitcoin without exposing your identity to them.

You are right that most crypto users who were attacked were publicly known as owners of cryptos. Some of them went as far as showing off the amounts they have in crypto wallets. But it doesn't mean that we should inform all our friends and family members about our Bitcoin dealings. The news that you own Bitcoin could spread as you inform more people. It is better to keep your financial transactions secret because bad actors could come from any source.

That's absurd, England or Indonesia or whatever country you are in, you can still use the exchange that is operating in your country, because it is like millions of traders out there, and even if we assume there's a smaller number of traders doesn't mean they know who they are trading with, unless we are talking about p2p. Even with p2p, it's a very long shot though and what if you are not involved in Bitcoin or anything but you are already rich, and someone kidnaps your loved ones and asking ransom that should be paid only in Bitcoin. And, Bitcoin is just a mode of payment that has nothing to do with kidnapping. It falls under the responsibility of your government to take care of their tax payers and that is what we all are paying taxes.

people kidnapping others for ransom isn’t new, it has happened before many times already unfortunately they just have changed their medium. instead of asking for fiat, they start asking for bitcoin now. don’t use newly established exchanges with no reviews from a lot of customers yet no matter what offers they try to give new users

When you put it like this, you make it seem like it's something that is very common. Like it's something that happens almost every day, but that is not the case. I understand that it is heartbreaking and people should be more careful, but it is not as rampant as you make it seem. There have been about 231 cases of crypto-related violence, which include kidnapping and home invasion. When you look at this number, it seems too much, but compared to the total number of home invasions and kidnappings in the world, it's not common. I'm sure a very few number of people who were targetted was because of who they traded with in an exchange. So not trading with people in your country won't protect you if there is a way for people to find out you hold a reasonable amount of crypto. The best option for me is not be loud about it and only tell people you can trust and you know they will keep it to themselves, like your parents or partners. Nobody needs to know how much you have or how much bitcoin you hold. And if you want to exchage large amount of Bitcoin for cash on exchagnes, i suggest you do it in part if it can be traced to you.

Please, don't be one sided. These random and kidnappings aren't only demanding for Bitcoin, it's mostly happening with fiat/cash. Although these bad guys have got an idea now that if they ask for bitcoin, they are unlikely to get traced if they move that around. You know what's best for your own sake when you trade. If there's a bad experience from your local exchange, you're free to use another one outside your country.

As long as you are using a centralized exchange you are not safe, because they will definitely demand for your kyc information and this can be used in tracking you down at any time, you are going to have a similar or even in other cases more worst case scenario with using an exchange that is not within your country, therefore it is advisable that you make use of a decentralized exchange in case you don't want to get yourself into the trouble of data leakage and other personal information about yourself being with a centralized institution.

There could be two "holes" for your exchange data to be filtered: 1) the exchange's data is being hacked and criminals use your address for ransom purposes, 2) an employee from the exchange itself is giving the data to criminals. Number 2 would be the only case where a local exchange could be a bit more risky, but as crime networks are working on a global scale and addresses are sold en masse on darknet markets, I believe not even in this case a local exchange is more prone to that problem than any international exchange. The privacy policy of your exchange is much more important. And of course the KYC policy. If you're able to find a no-KYC exchange or an exchange with KYC practices where a hack of the identity data isn't that dangerous then that's the way to go. However, in many countries such services do not exist or are illegal, most require the standard video identification by third party providers. While this is correct in general, DEX or P2P exchanges like Bisq do have some risks too. If you exchange fiat for Bitcoin, it is advisable to not use a method where your bank account number or IBAN is visible to your trading partner, because tha can be used for several kinds of fraud, and it can also be used in some cases to get your full name and even address and expose your to ransom risk, especially if you are trading high amounts. Also some alternative "alias" systems like Argentina's (because you can get the account number and full name once you have an alias) are risky. In another thread, Zelle was recommended in this case, but it's not available everywhere.