Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Fresher robbed of £6,000 in Bitcoin
A terrified university fresher was held at knifepoint during a 20-minute mugging and forced to transfer £6,000 of Bitcoin.
Eight men stormed into the Canterbury Christ Church University (CCCU) student’s accommodation in Parham Road, took his phone and demanded he hand over security passwords to financial apps.
The victim was left so traumatised, he moved back home and was offered counselling.
But none of the eight men were charged and the investigation was dropped by police.
The victim’s mum, who has not been named to protect both of their identities, spoke to the Gazette to warn other students to be vigilant.
She said her son had been talking about cryptocurrency to his housemate five days after he started at CCCU.
“It was the first friend my son made from university and he was from London,” she said.
“The conversation turned to financial and the housemate started talking about cyber-currency.”
The housemate invited eight school friends down from Dagenham, according to the victim’s mum.
“They came inside and they went into the kitchen area,” she added.
“The housemate left the room and they barricaded him in and held him at knifepoint.”
They demanded the victim enter security codes into his financial apps on his phone and he was forced to transfer about £6,000-worth of Bitcoin and his £3,000 student loan.
Bitcoin is a digital currency which was created in 2009 and reportedly offers lower transaction fees than other methods of online payment.
It is operated by a decentralised authority, unlike government-issued currencies.
The value of the victim’s Bitcoin is now estimated to be worth about £68,000.
The mugging lasted for about 20 minutes before the eight men fled the scene and the victim rushed over to a security hut
and phoned police.
The robbery, described as a “clever” crime by the student’s mother, had a devastating impact on him.
“He was terrified, emasculated, humiliated and abused,” she added. “You don’t hand over £10,000 if you think you’re not going to get injured.”
None of the money could be refunded and the investigation was dropped eight months after the incident last September.
In a warning to other students, the victim’s mother added: “The police commonly call freshers week ‘fishing week’ because all the criminals come down.
“They know the students have got grants, laptops and new stuff. Attacks, assaults and muggings are quite common across the country.”
Canterbury District Commander Chief Insp Mark Hedges confirmed police were contacted
about the robbery.
“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,” he said.
“Following inquiries, three men were arrested on suspicion of robbery and interviewed. However the case did not meet the evidential test and the three suspects were refused charge.
“Kent Police takes the safety of the county’s student population extremely seriously.”
A spokesperson for CCCU said the safety of students is “paramount importance”.
“The reported incident was investigated and thoroughly reviewed,” they added.
“We offered the student wellbeing counselling, financial support, and a relocation of accommodation.”