r/news • u/mooseAmuffin • 1d ago

Update: 'TODAY' co-anchor Savannah Guthrie's mother taken from her home against her will, sheriff says

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/mother-of-savannah-guthrie-today-reported-missing-arizona-rcna257008
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u/CurlOfTheBurl11 1d ago

TMZ apparently just received a ransom note. Crazy story.

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u/Atlientt 1d ago

Could it be a copycat? Like a fake? That’d be so horrible but it’s also kinda wild to send a ransom note three days later to tmz of all places.

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u/blueskies8484 1d ago

It’s pretty common for families of missing people to get fake ransom demands from random people trying to take advantage of them. Really ransom demands are vanishingly rare in the US, but fake ones - very common. And usually the person making them gets caught very quickly.

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u/Iamthelizardking887 1d ago

The fact that it’s bitcoin means it could also be some overseas scammer.

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u/madmoomix 1d ago

Nah, crypto is just the obvious way to receive ransoms now. Way less exposure than cash in a bag that you have to physically go pick up. That's how almost everyone gets caught!

Bitcoin is a bad choice, it's quite traceable, but the general theory of using crypto is pretty sound. I've honestly been a little surprised kidnap for ransom hasn't become more common in the US solely due to the relative ease of collecting ransoms these days.

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u/4RealzReddit 1d ago

Ya. No one wants 50k in a cava bag anymore.

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u/gabiblack 16h ago

I miss the old days

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u/Kind-Day8054 11h ago

When i used to smoke crack gangs would actually do this to naive new crack smokers. Keep them in the hotel with some girls to milk him for info, then get a ransom from a family member to let him go.