Mother of Olympics TV host kidnapped for bitcoin ransom

Nancy Guthrie, the 84 year-old mother of Today host Savannah Guthrie, was kidnapped from her rural Tuscon, Arizona home on February 1. While law enforcement has refused to confirm or deny whether two ransom notes sent to TMZ, KOLD, and KGUN were real, the media is operating under the assumption that they are.

The notes included two deadlines — one that passed without any updates and another that TMZ states has “an element of ‘or else’” — and demanded $6 million worth of bitcoin (BTC).

Media outlets haven’t clarified if the abductors are demanding a specific amount of BTC or a specific amount valued in dollars. If they’re demanding a specific number of BTC, the recent fall in the price could actually suggest that more than $6 million worth of the cryptocurrency was originally demanded.

As of today, $6 million would equate to roughly 85 BTC, on February 1, it would be 75-76 BTC.

Savannah Guthrie has hosted NBC’s coverage of three recent Olympic games, however, she’s understandably unable to host this year.

During the opening ceremony, three hosts acknowledged her difficult situation and wished her well.

A hoax and a second note

In a confusing set of circumstances, a man from California sent the Guthries a fake ransom demand shortly before the likely real kidnappers, who had originally stated they wouldn’t contact any media or the family in the first note, sent a second ransom note.

A local reporter at KOLD spoke to CNN and stated that the note was shorter than the first and seemed to be an attempt to provide some sort of proof they still had Guthrie in their possession.

Reporters have suggested that the emailed ransom demands are extremely secure and unlikely to be traced.

Read more: Crypto execs hiring private security after high-profile kidnappings, report

Sloppy or brilliant?

It is difficult to establish whether the Guthrie abductors are brilliant, investigators have been sloppy, or some combination of the two.

Surprises have included that there has reportedly been no footage obtained of either the perpetrators or the vehicle(s) in which they escaped, no suggestion that a so-called “proof-of-life” has been shared with the family, and that the abductors used BTC instead of a coin that is easier to shield, such as Monero or Zcash.

It’s unknown if the kidnappers have demanded the BTC be sent to a single wallet address or want it broken up, or if they believe they know an exchange or mixer that would reliably accept the BTC and not be easily traced.

Damning for law enforcement is the fact that they have combed through the crime scene in Tuscon at least three times and have yet to come up with any leads or new information to share with the public.

A deadline and an introduction

It’s still unclear which timezone the 5:00pm deadline refers to or what threat is being levelled. The Guthries have sent out a distressing, public video in which they speak directly to the kidnappers.

“We received your message and we understand. We beg you now to return our mother to us so that we can celebrate with her. This is the only way that we will have peace. This is very valuable to us and we will pay.”

While there’s little doubt that this horrifying crime has had a profound effect on the Guthrie family, Savannah Guthrie’s co-workers at Today, and others close to her, it’s also becoming more clear that entirely new demographics of the US population are about to be introduced to one of the absolute darkest sides to crypto.

The Today show averages almost 3 million viewers a day, with those who regularly tune in skewing older.

This means that an ongoing and growing global problem — that crypto is enabling kidnappers and extortionists to set up scam call centers or abduct the mother of a wealthy celebrity — will begin to finally worry older Americans.

Perhaps a new issue for the “Crypto President.”

Not surprising, but shocking

Anyone who’s been following crypto for the past several years has heard about pig butchering.

The scam works by luring victims, usually from developing nations like China and Thailand, to vast scam call center campuses almost always located in Cambodia, Laos, or Myanmar.

Once the victim arrives, they’re imprisoned in apartment blocks and offices where they’re forced to cold text and call Westerners and romance them in a long con to get crypto.

Read more: Bitcoin torture suspects granted bail in Manhattan court

An underreported, but important, element of the pig butchering scam is that victims are often able to contact family members to demand a ransom for their eventual release.

While an outsized ransom, such as the $6 million in BTC being demanded by the Nancy Guthrie kidnappers, is never asked for, the numbers are still high enough as to be out of reach for an average Chinese or Thai family.

This leads to victims languishing in the compounds for months or years at a time, but also leads pig butcherers to a secondary, less profitable source of income: kidnapping.

In this sense, perhaps the Guthrie kidnapping, while equal parts disturbing, terrible, and disheartening, is an important spotlight on what is now becoming a problem for everyone: cryptocurrency providing kidnappers a new, innovative way to actually get away with it.

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