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The accused left threatening notes to neighbors demanding BTC so as not to burn their houses.
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The extortionist urged victims to use Coinbase, ATMs and other exchanges.
Canadian authorities this week arrested Finbar Hughes, a citizen accused of threatening neighbors in the cities of Calgary and Edmonton, in Canada, with burning down their houses if he did not receive payments in Bitcoin.
Calgary Police identified to Hughes following an arson attack in the community of Hillhurst, located northwest of Calgary. After extensive research, He was arrested on December 4.
Police said Hughes is apparently responsible for attempting to burn down another house with the goal of forcing the victims to pay him in bitcoin. In addition to his activities in Calgary, Hughes is believed is linked to three similar incidents in Edmonton last October.
The Edmonton Police Service reported that fires broke out in the Holyrood neighborhood on two separate occasions: on September 23, a vehicle was set on fire, and on October 19, a house suffered the same fate. In the Cloverdale neighborhood, also in Edmonton, another home was attacked on October 13.
In each of these incidents, handwritten notes were found instructing owners to pay an extortion of around $1,400 in BTC or risk destruction of their property. As seen in one of the notes, the person responsible urged the victims to acquire the BTC through Coinbase, ATMs or through a local exchange called MyBTC.ca, and later send them to a wallet.
One of the threatening notes demanding payment in BTC. Source: CTV News.
In October, reported a fire that appeared to be arson and that completely destroyed a house. Fire crews responded around 3:30 a.m. on a Sunday to the residence near 95th Street and 97th Avenue. Although flames engulfed the home, The four occupants managed to escape without injuries. Police later found handwritten notes in neighboring houses demanding payments in BTC under threat of fire.
This modus operandi is not unique to Hughes. In June 2023, US authorities investigated a series of threats against several Walmart stores, where criminals demanded bitcoingift cards or fiat money under threat of causing explosions in commercial premisesas reported by CriptoNoticias.
The investigation continues, and authorities are urging anyone who received notes or has information related to these incidents to contact police.
This article was created using artificial intelligence and edited by a human Editor.
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