Wesley Passano, a 19-year-old crypto investor, bragged about his wealth and inspiring lifestyle on Instagram to his 133,000 followers and on Youtube to his 15,600 subscribers. In one photo, he stands leaning against his red Porsche, holding a thick bundle of banknotes. In August 2021, he was driving to his barbershop in the Brazilian city of Sao Pedro de Aldeia when unknown perpetrators opened fire on him in broad daylight in front of multiple witnesses. Wesley died on the spot and his passenger was injured. The shocking killing was the work of gangs increasingly targeting bragging crypto traders and influencers after they flaunted their wealth on social media.
Kieren Hamilton, another crypto investor who is 21 years old and highly popular on social media, was attacked by two masked robbers who broke into his house home in Greater Manchester, Great Britain, and demanded valuables. He was stabbed in the arm before the robbers fled with his dog, worth approx. £1,000, an Apple MacBook laptop, gold bracelets and a gold wedding ring. Mr Hamilton’s baby daughter was at home screaming in her cot when the robbers attacked at 6 a.m. on 5 January 2018.
Tjeerd H., a 39-year-old crypto trader, was robbed and tortured at his home in Drouwenerveen, the Netherlands, in 2019. The perpetrators disguised as police from a special SWAT team tied him up, hanged him, waterboarded him, beat him and drilled seven holes in his leg with an impact drill.
The above examples are just an illustration of what can happen when you become financially successful in crypto business and do not also take care of your security in the real world.
Richard Heart moved out of the USA 15 years ago and almost never returns there because he believes the country is far more dangerous for supposed multi-billionaires like him. Richard lives somewhere in Europe, although no one apart from his family and closest friends knows where. When meeting fans of his products in various European cities, he announced the exact time and location of the meeting several hours before it was actually held, so as not to give potential villains too much time to prepare a potential attack.
Many cryptocurrency investors do not use social media at all or hardly at all. Others use pseudonyms or do not publish photos or videos of themselves at all. Still others do not publish anything to do with crypto, money or the luxurious life they lead. There are many methods to avoid becoming a target: from remaining as anonymous as possible through learning martial arts and owning weapons, to hiring private security guards and buying guard dogs. Much depends on the country you live in and the laws, lifestyle and individual preferences there. One thing is for sure though, the examples given above of what can happen if you don’t exercise caution after being successful with cryptocurrencies should make you treat your safety seriously.
Read more in my book ‘Second Crypto Revolution: Build Generational Wealth With Richard Heart’s Crypto Ecosystem’.
‘Second Crypto Revolution’ is now also available as an audiobook! Click here to listen!