Florida Banking October/November 2025

3. Why This Is Happening : because crypto is the perfect target. It is: • Anonymous and non-reversible transfers • No middlemen or clawbacks. • Large sums can be moved instantly. • Victims often have no recourse — and criminals know it. •Social media oversharing reveals wealth and location. 4. Vulnerability Factors include the who and the what: Who’s at risk? High-risk behaviors include public crypto holdings or NFT collections, visible wealth (cars, travel, social media) and speaking at crypto events. What’s risky business? Client vulnerability factors include using cold wallets at home, a single point of failure (e.g., spouse knows passphrase) and a lack of family/staff training. 5. Implications for Advisors include client advisory. Think about where the keys are stored and who has access. Also, consider whether kidnapping and ransom insurance should be acquired. 6. Risk Mitigation Strategies begin with strong security practices, such as: • Don’t store seed phrases at home — use vaults or custodians. • Split access among trusted parties or jurisdictions. • Use duress wallets (a duress wallet is one seeded with a small amount of value that can be “given up” when under duress). • Restrict access via time-locked wallets. • Reduce public exposure of wealth. • Train household members and staff on response plans. Crypto Is Secure. People Aren’t. Our clients with digital wealth indeed may have excellent cyber hygiene — but still be physically vulnerable. We can be part of the solution in client education, risk design and asset protection. Helping our clients protect their digital assets and physical well-being is more critical than ever and underscores the importance of vigilance, continuous learning and proactive measures in safeguarding our information. For example, last week I had a problem at the grocery store. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get my cart to go down the canned meat aisle. Turned out my SPAM filter was on.

millionaire was lured into a fake business meeting near the Kyiv airport, where kidnappers attempted to bundle him into a van. But… •He screamed loud enough to attract airport police within 30 seconds. •The kidnappers, stunned by the swift law enforcement response, abandoned their van and ran … through an active airport parking lot. • I guess they forgot that airports are full of police and cameras. • You could say that their escape route was, um, terminal (sorry). 3. Ouch, That Hurts! In Europe (April 2025), a 60-year-old was abducted by several men in ski masks who forced him into a van in broad daylight, then used a tiny guillotine to cut off his finger to send to his son (a wealthy owner of a crypto marketing company). After two days of captivity, he was rescued via a police raid. 4. Similar Criminal M.O. In fact, police thought the same gang of criminals might have struck in January 2025, when they abducted David Balland, co-founder of Ledger, and his partner. Taken from their home in central France, David’s finger was mutilated but he suffered no further injury as he was rescued by a police raid. His partner was found in the trunk of a car in a different location. 5. What Is That Smell? In December 2024, a crypto influencer’s father, his wife and daughter were abducted in eastern France. The wife and daughter were released. The father was later found in the trunk of a car, tied up and soaked in gasoline. 6. Wrench Attacks Not Just Overseas. Since 2023, there has been a surge in home invasions targeting crypto founders throughout the U.S. In May 2025 in New York City, a falling out between two colleagues led to a three-week stay in a $75,000/month condo in Manhattan. But for Michael Valentino Teofrasto Carturan, it was anything but luxurious. He was subjected to torture and humiliation by his captors, who sought his Bitcoin password. Their unsuccessful torture tactics included dangling him from a fifth story balcony, tying him with electrical cords and then whipping him with a gun, and placing his feet in water and then tasing him. What Can We Do? How should advisors respond to these shocking events? Educate our clients on the following points: 1. This Is a New Threat Landscape because cybercrime has left the screen as ransomware, phishing and SIM-swapping have now evolved into physical threats. Victims are being kidnapped and physically threatened to get them to divulge their private keys, seed phrases or passwords. 2. Real-World Cases are Increasing and the addition of crypto and coercion equals a crisis to be taken seriously.

The author takes sole responsibility for the views expressed herein and these views do not necessarily reflect the views of the author’s employer or any other organization, group or individual.

WWW.FLORIDABANKERS.COM OCTOBER | NOVEMBER 2025 — 15