The founder of Crypto was accused of in Uganda and held at the muzzle, forcing the latest crypto-inducing attempt to send $500,000 worth of ciphers to the latest attacker.
Festo Ivaibi, founder of Crypto Education Hub Mitroplus Labs, was accused of his residence on Bunamwaya Road, Kampala, Uganda on May 17th.
The attacker reportedly was armed, dressed in military uniforms and claimed he was a “security operator” or UPDF of the Ugandan People’s Defense Force, according to a formal statement in X’s Mitroplus Afro-Token Project account.
The armed group allegedly forced Ivaibi to unlock the crypto wallet and transfer the $500,000 crypto into a controlled wallet. Mitroplus Lab was also selling some of the Afro Token meme coins, Afro Tokens, under forced sales.
Uganda’s code aid.
On Saturday, May 17, 2025, our founder @ivaibifesto was accused of an individual posing as a security agent (@modva_updf) and forced to release his crypto assets. I’m grateful that he is safe now and that all systems are in place.
This is…pic.twitter.com/ipzkrwtv95
– Afro Token (@afrotokensun) May 19, 2025
“This is not an attack on one person, it is an attack on a growing vision,” the project said.
The afro token was created with Sunpump. Tron Blockchain. Although it is unknown which cryptocurrency will be used for other forced transfers, some volumes reportedly have been sent to Binance Wallet.
Dex Screener data shows that the value of the token has dropped by about 16.7%, with the remaining market capitalization falling by about 16.7% from over $7.3 million in December last year.
Decryption We will contact Mitroplus Labs and UPDF for comment and update this article if this article responds.
“Wrench Attacks” are increasing
Mitroplus Labs claims the attack is part of a coordinated pattern involving crypto traders, fraudulent law enforcement officers and informants pretending to be two Chinese citizens.
The company claimed that at least 48 similar attacks have been identified, with many cases being dismissed “due to the effects of the ring.”
Wrench attacks, thefts, where crypto holders are physically threatened, have multiplied in recent months.
Earlier this year, David Barand, co-founder of the hardware wallet maker Leisure, was lured and cut off as part of ransom demand. In February, a Crypto broke a broken ankle trying to escape from the acquirer.
Just this month, the father of a crypto entrepreneur was released in a police attack after the temptation demanded nearly $8 million for the crypto ransom.
Michael Pearl, vice president of strategy at blockchain security firm Cyvers, said the challenge of wrench attacks is either physically carried out or “publish a private key or allow transactions under obsessive compulsiveness.” Decryption.
Pearl suggests that security methods such as multifactor authentication “make forced forwarding difficult to carry out without warning others.” Monitoring for “abnormal transaction patterns or accesses from new devices” can also be useful by “triggering alerts or temporary freezes to protect assets.”
Yet, the wrench attack continues amid the “value of widening revenue gaps and the rising cryptocurrency.” Decryption in an emailed statement.
Still, the government is “requiring more transparency and identity data,” and it could easily be leaked by criminals trying to target crypto holders, Halpin said.
Using VPNs (virtual private networks) is one of many techniques that crypto users can practice to maintain security, Halpin proposed.
Edited by Stacy Elliott.
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