Czech republic blackmailed: give us Bitcoins or we give you Ebola
Obviously it was only a matter of time for something like that to be exploited. Czech authorities are not taking it seriously.
Serious or not, in both cases the depth of human aberrations never ceases to amaze me.
According to Czech TV Nova, the blackmailers have asked for one million euro ($1,27 million) in Bitcoin virtual currency to abandon their plans.
▻http://en.ria.ru/world/20141027/194689318/Blackmailers-Threaten-Czech-Authorities-with-Ebola-Spread.html
Sarcastically, that is one way where Bitcoins can avoid Ebola. Another, more acceptable situation where Bitcoins can help is when it is not practical to quickly move lots of money to certain risky regions.
And just as it’s difficult to get medicines, protective gear, food and other supplies quickly into and around the Ebola hot zones, there are also constraints in moving money. As aid agencies and governments seek to transfer funds through foundations and regional not-for-profit entities out to smaller non-profits and then to tiny local outlets and finally to the threatened individuals themselves, the barriers in the traditional banking system can gummy up that process at the worst possible time.
▻http://blogs.wsj.com/moneybeat/2014/10/08/bitbeat-could-bitcoin-help-fight-the-ebola-crisis