Eleven Israeli tourists were robbed in an attack that was violent on Santa Teresa de Cobano beach in Puntarenas, Costa Rica.
The robbery happened during the time that the group was attending an event for socializing, and at least eight people approached the group. The attackers were in two expensive vehicles and fought off the group’s security guard.
The robbers believed to have been trained by police, required the tourists to surrender their possessions, including a significant quantity worth of Bitcoin BTC1.36 per cent Bitcoin. Surveillance footage of the attackers shows some in what appeared to look like police attire escorting victims from one spot to another.
Insider job?
The authorities believe that the attackers knew about the tourists’ finances, which suggests that someone who is close to the group might have provided information to the criminals. It is believed that the Judicial Investigation Agency is actively searching for leads in the investigation.
It is believed that the thieves had knowledge about Bitcoin, which makes authorities suspect that the robbery took place as an insider job. The investigation is still ongoing as authorities attempt to locate those responsible and recover these stolen items.
The local news organization Teletica assisted in reporting this report.
Similar crimes involving crypto similar to those of Ukraine
This robbery was akin to an incident which occurred in Kyiv, Ukraine, where police arrested four men in the abduction as well as the murder of a foreigner aged 29 in the amount of three Bitcoins. The crime was premeditated, with the suspects chasing the victim back home before slapping him and threatening him to hand over his Bitcoin. The victim was killed, and the body of the victim was laid to rest in a forest.
These incidents highlight the growing dangers for crypto owners as criminals become more sophisticated when seeking out people with huge quantities of crypto assets.
Are there increasing rates of cybercrime?
The June Chainalysis report discovered that crimes involving crypto are becoming more complicated and costly for law enforcement agencies to find and stop. These crimes require time and sophisticated tools to be investigated.
While a majority of public sector workers consider crypto to be a positive thing, re is increasing anxiety regarding its use by criminals, particularly in areas like Asia-Pacific. The Chainalysis report emphasized the need for increased tech and staff in public sector organizations across the globe as they work to combat the problem of cryptocurrency criminality.
