Crypto scams, thefts, and phishing attacks have become a common red alert in the digital world, but the real-world robbery in the crypto space is an unbelievable fact. Recently, three teenagers from Florida kidnapped a Las Vegas man and robbed him of $4 million in cryptocurrencies and NFTs. The accused teenagers abducted him at gunpoint and drove him to a remote desert area in Arizona for an hour and forced him to transfer the huge amount, as reported by a local US media outlet.  

Reportedly, one of the teen suspects has fled the country and is currently on the run, whereas two other suspects of 16 years old, are under criminal charges for robbery, extortion, and kidnapping. One of them is being held in imprison with a bail of $4 million imposed on him, and the other teen is under house arrest.  

According to police officials, this incident happened when the victim was leaving for his home after hosting a crypto event in Downtown Las Vegas. After abducting him, the trio of teens threatened him, saying he would not be able to see another day and would kill his father if he resisted cooperating. The abductors pressured the man to hand over his crypto account passwords, and that’s how they got access to millions in digital assets. Eventually, the kidnappers left the victim in the desert, making him walk five miles until he found a gas station and called a friend for help. 

Did a similar heist happen in the past?

Yes, offline robbery in the crypto industry has happened earlier, but not on a larger scale when compared to online scams. Online crypto thefts have outpaced offline thefts, with a significant loss of over $2.2 billion. In January 2025, eight robbers, including police officers, kidnapped and stole over Rs. 12 million from a crypto trader in Pakistan. Another incident shows that consumers lost nearly $66 million to deceitful Bitcoin ATM scams.