California suspects missing 74-year-old father due to son's cryptocurrency assets

Naiping Hou, 74 years old, left home on a Monday without taking his phone and has never returned. Authorities in California believe that this disappearance is related to the family's cryptocurrency assets.

A few days later, Mr. Hou's silver Toyota Yaris was found abandoned near a hiking trail in Rancho Cucamonga. He was reported missing on May 4th, and investigators now suspect that he may have been kidnapped.

As of July 7, the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department confirmed that the Specialized Investigations Unit is handling this case as a "suspicious incident" after discovering "serious fraudulent activities" related to Mr. Hou's bank accounts.

An unnamed suspect is believed to have used Mr. Hou's phone and "impersonated him to contact family members," according to a statement from the Police Department. No one has been arrested yet, but the possibility that this is a premeditated crime has not been ruled out.

Mr. Hou's son, Wen Hou, has offered a reward of $250,000 for anyone who provides information that helps bring his father back safely. Wen believes that someone has stolen his father's identity and withdrawn over $1 million from his accounts.

Wen Hou is a cryptocurrency millionaire and has been the Chief Investment Officer (CIO) of the venture capital firm Coincident Capital since 2019. Wen stated that his father had no reason to disappear on his own.

"I miss him very much," Wen shared with local media. "He was the one who guided my life," he said in an interview with KABC.

However, wealthy individuals in the cryptocurrency space often become easy targets when they "show off their assets online, neglect security factors, or place too much trust in close acquaintances," according to Mr. Nick Harris from the blockchain investigation company CryptoCare.

Harris believes that poor security habits, along with the misconception that cryptocurrency is completely anonymous ( despite the fact that blockchain is traceable ), have made users more vulnerable.

Mr. Snir Levi, the founder and CEO of the risk management and compliance platform Nominis, believes that many victims are unaware that they have exposed personal information through social media, data leaks, or blockchain wallet activities.

"Unfortunately, even now, many people still do not realize that everything they post on social media can reveal their location and cryptocurrency assets," Mr. Levi shared.

In addition to individual behavior, Levi emphasized that platforms like cryptocurrency exchanges also have a responsibility to protect users — especially when data leaks can link identities to wallet addresses.

"Exchanges need to treat user data as valuable as their own cryptocurrency assets," Levi said.

The disappearance of Mr. Hou reflects a more dangerous trend that is on the rise: the physical threat associated with digital assets.

The threat is becoming increasingly apparent

In the crypto industry, this trend is referred to as "wrench attacks" — a term that describes robberies that may start with simple theft but become violent when the perpetrator uses force to coerce the victim into revealing information such as seed phrases or wallet access codes.

"We see a marked increase in kidnapping, threats, or detention of individuals aimed at seizing their cryptocurrency assets," Mr. Levi warned.

Mr. Nick Harris from CryptoCare also confirmed that this phenomenon "is clearly on the rise." In just the first half of this year, there have been 22 cases reported globally.

Currently, the police force and relevant authorities have deployed "cybercrime units and blockchain forensic teams" to trace transaction trails in ongoing investigations, Mr. Harris said.

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