Nancy Guthrie Ransom: Is It A Scam? Why Should Savannah’s Family Pay In Bitcoin?

As the ransom deadline for Savannah Guthrie and her family neared, she appealed for help in their “hour of desperation.” And, that sparked discussion about ransom payment and bitcoin. Read on for more details.

Behind The Scenes

Speaking with Brian Entin on the Brian Entin Investigates channel, Retired FBI Agent Steve Moore provided some analysis about it. Brian noted the family faced a second ransom demand, for “six million dollars.”

So, he asked what might be happening behind the scenes as police updates seem vague and getting fewer. Well, Steve Moore explained that the silence doesn’t mean nothing is happening behind the scenes.

Preparations For Payment 

In fact, Steve suggested that intense preparations were surely underway. “Somewhere they are getting ready to transmit a ransom,” for Nancy Guthrie, Moore said.

These things take time, so he also pointed out the difficulty of obtaining money in cash to make any transaction as wealth is often tied up in assets. Then, there’s various steps of converting that into Bitcoin, which could be a bit complex.

Is Bitcoin Untraceable?

Naturally, Entin questioned whether paying could actually aid the investigation, noting the common belief that Bitcoin is “untraceable.” However, Moore disagreed and said, “No, it’s not true that it’s not traceable.” Backing that up, he referred to the success of the FBI in recovering billions in cryptocurrency from “malware scams.”

Basically, delivering the ransom electronically gives investigators important data. “It gives the bureau more information and more of a chance to catch somebody…by millions of miles than by not paying,” Moore explained.

Following FBI Advice

Moore also suggested that Savannah Guthrie and her family follow the advice of the FBI to get their mom, Nancy Guthrie back. He agreed that the Bureau likely recommended payment.

But obviously, the family makes the final call. “I can tell you that what I’m seeing is they’ve decided that the best play is to pay the ransom,” he told Entin.

Not A Scam?

Finally, Entin wondered if the kidnapping could be a scam unrelated to the disappearance. While Moore considered it possible, he also felt that it isn’t very likely. After all, the FBI would probably need good proof before recommending any payment.

“You don’t send $6 million on a hunch,” Moore opined. So, he believes that, potentially, the kidnappers provided something convincing to both the family and the investigators, leading to a payment decision.

Viewers React

In the comments section, plenty of people hope that it isn’t a scam piggybacking on the first statement that Savannah and her family made. One of them wrote, “To have your mom disappear is one tragedy, but to be scammed on top of it is outrageous.”

Here are a few more responses from the discussion:

• No proof of life no money, period, and as of now there’s been no proof this person has Nancy.
• It would be the best news ever to hear that Nancy has come home. 🙏 Steve is so interesting & very knowledgeable.
• Hoping for a happy ending to this nightmare of a story.

What are your thoughts? Are you surprised that a Bitcoin payment might provide data to track the ones demanding a ransom? Let us know in the comments below, and come back here often for all your true crime news and updates.

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