Student Robbed At Knifepoint
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A freshman student at the University of Kent was robbed after revealing he held cryptocurrency.
This exchange or platform is based in United Kingdom, or the incident targeted people primarily in United Kingdom.
About Unknown
"A college student started the year as a freshman was robbed at the University of Kent, a school located in the historic city of Canterbury."
"The student’s mother details that five days before starting his course, her son started to talk about cryptocurrencies with a friend from the school."
"She said her son had been discussing cryptocurrency with a new friend on campus just five days after he started his course." "She said: "It was the first friend my son made from university and he was from London."
"“They were just having lads’ talk. [Then] the conversation turned to [finance] and the friend started talking about cyber currency,” the student’s mother explained."
"After the discussion, the boy’s friend alleges that the student brought eight friends from East London to visit the student’s room and he instantly “knew he was in trouble,” his mother declared."
The student "was robbed at knifepoint for his bitcoin. After eight thugs stormed his dorm room and demanded that he reveal his crypto credentials and passwords." "The student says that his bitcoin stash was worth around £6,000 ($8.2K) at the time he was robbed." "A further £3,000 of his grant money was also stolen."
"He was terrified, emasculated, humiliated and abused." "You don't hand over nearly £10,000 if you don't think you're not going to get injured."
"The student then called the police and ran to the security hut and the student’s mother said the security guards didn’t go to the crime scene. The police never arrived because there were more important matters to attend to that evening."
"After the incident, the student called the police and ran to the university security booth, but the police never showed up." She said: "He phoned the police and they didn't attend because there was something more important on that night."
"Canterbury District Commander Chief Inspector Mark Hedges confirmed that police were contacted about the robbery."
He said: "The incident was reported around 45 minutes after the robbery had taken place and during the call, it was established the offenders had left the scene."
"As a result, it was arranged for officers to visit the victim the following day, when further details of the robbery were disclosed, including the theft of a mobile phone and the transfer of a significant amount of cryptocurrency from the victim's account."
"A thorough investigation into the incident was carried out, including a review of local CCTV opportunities, analysis of Bitcoin 'wallet' IDs and exploration of possible forensic evidence."
"However, the case did not meet the evidential test and the three suspects were refused charge."
"The only action the university took was moving him to different accommodation. He was too traumatised so he moved back home even though he had safer and better accommodation."
"We offered the student wellbeing counselling, financial support, and relocation of accommodation."
"To make matters worse, the money was never returned to the student. The Canterbury District Police Department dropped the case after eight months. The mother detailed that she was upset that the Kent security guards and police did nothing. She also warned other freshmen students that the same could happen to them."
"“The police commonly call Freshers’ Week ‘fishing week’ because all the criminals come down,” she said. “They know the students have got grants, laptops, and new stuff. Attacks, assaults, and muggings are quite common across the country,” the student’s mother added."
"The fact of the matter is, it is not wise to disclose crypto asset holdings to others, unless you truly trust them. Bitcoin muggings have been taking place for years, but there’s been an increase in crypto robberies that leverage violence to steal bitcoin or other digital assets, since the crypto economy’s massive rise in value during the latter half of 2020."
"No one was ever charged in connection with the incident." "[N]ow that same stash of bitcoin is worth £68K ($93,000)".
This exchange or platform is based in United Kingdom, or the incident targeted people primarily in United Kingdom.
The background of the exchange platform, service, or individuals involved, as it would have been seen or understood at the time of the events.
Include:
- Known history of when and how the service was started.
- What problems does the company or service claim to solve?
- What marketing materials were used by the firm or business?
- Audits performed, and excerpts that may have been included.
- Business registration documents shown (fake or legitimate).
- How were people recruited to participate?
- Public warnings and announcements prior to the event.
Don't Include:
- Any wording which directly states or implies that the business is/was illegitimate, or that a vulnerability existed.
- Anything that wasn't reasonably knowable at the time of the event.
There could be more than one section here. If the same platform is involved with multiple incidents, then it can be linked to a main article page.
The Reality
This sections is included if a case involved deception or information that was unknown at the time. Examples include:
- When the service was actually started (if different than the "official story").
- Who actually ran a service and their own personal history.
- How the service was structured behind the scenes. (For example, there was no "trading bot".)
- Details of what audits reported and how vulnerabilities were missed during auditing.
What Happened
The specific events of the loss and how it came about. What actually happened to cause the loss and some of the events leading up to it.
| Date | Event | Description |
|---|---|---|
| September 15th, 2020 12:00:00 AM | First Event | This is an expanded description of what happened and the impact. If multiple lines are necessary, add them here. |
Total Amount Lost
The total amount lost is unknown.
How much was lost and how was it calculated? If there are conflicting reports, which are accurate and where does the discrepancy lie?
Immediate Reactions
How did the various parties involved (firm, platform, management, and/or affected individual(s)) deal with the events? Were services shut down? Were announcements made? Were groups formed?
Ultimate Outcome
What was the end result? Was any investigation done? Were any individuals prosecuted? Was there a lawsuit? Was any tracing done?
Total Amount Recovered
It is unknown how much was recovered.
What funds were recovered? What funds were reimbursed for those affected users?
Ongoing Developments
What parts of this case are still remaining to be concluded?
Prevention Policies
The best practice for protecting against physical robbery is to have a throw-away wallet with a smaller balance. It is never a good idea to reveal the details of your funds to anyone else.
Funds can be secured through the requirement of additional factors for withdrawal, which could include the approval of other friends/family, devices physically located in multiple locations, or devices which are held in secure facilities such as banks.
References
London College Student Robbed at Knifepoint by 8 Thugs for $93K in Bitcoin – Bitcoin News (Oct 3)
London College student robbed of Bitcoin (BTC) worth £68k - Cointribune (Dec 3)