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I probably ought to clarify right from the start: I think kidnapping crypto millionaires or someone close to them to convince them to hand over their precious coins would be a scandalous practice. I would personally not opt for such methods of enrichment, but those looking to kidnap rich people might do well to target crypto-rich people specifically. That is why I am writing this piece: to explain why crypto-millionaires are especially good targets for kidnapping and/or extorsion, so that any potential whale out there can think twice about their position and make precautions accordingly.
The business model of kidnappers, excluding the complexities of organ theft and human trafficking, is fairly simple: get hold of something or someone a wealthy person values more than their money and threaten to harm it or them in order to get the rich party to part with their wealth. The same would be true of kidnappings of crypto-wealthy individuals, except with crypto there is a key difference: assuming we kidnap the rich person, that person would also have the power to move most or even all of their funds, by means of information in their memory. Consider classic kidnappings: the bandits demand money, in gold, dollars, BTC or any other currency and then wait for a payment to release their prey (or not) and attempt to vanish without a trace with the funds. In 'classic' abductions the process would demand a complex process with multiple points of failure, having to nominate and trust neutral parties, launder money, negotiate with police and other state organs, physically obtain the currency etc. Most of this could be bypassed with crypto. A rich person owning crypto is more vulnerable that someone who simply has a lot of cash in the bank or a huge portfolio. The second type of person could be forced to move their money to a different bank account or withdraw this by an ATM, but the money transfers would likely arise suspicion and there would be multiple potential dangers for the kidnappers to pump out the money into the crypto space where they could vanish without much of a trace: buying crypto with your own fiat is already a nightmare due to unreasonable KYC, imagine doing that when dealing with a stolen bank account and getting someone you potentially tortured to move their head in a circular motion before a camera, not to mention that that is the easiest part, but you would be leaving a trail by connecting to the internet that could be later used to pin you down after the transaction gets inevitably marked as fraudulent by the bank. Most of the time, rich people are not able to access all their money at once, having to phone their accountant, portfolio manager, etc. to gather funds, which, again, would have to be transferred into something more crime-friendly. The more complex and longer the process, the easier it is to later find and punish the kidnappers. Now let us consider the crypto-wealthy as targets.
Unlike conventional moneybags, crypto millionaires usually have access to all of their money at once. Most crypto owners remember enough information to be able to access their assets from any computer at a given moment, even if that is not the case I am certain that in 99% of cases a crypto-wealthy person would be able to access all of their assets with their laptop or even phone at hand. Abduct a crypto-whale along with their most used devices and you will most likely be in control of someone who is able to access their funds almost immediately. Forcing them to do so is another matter altogether, but I am certain that torture techniques exist that would crack pretty much anyone, even those who now think themselves to be Rambo. A crypto whale could be abducted, tortured, forced to comply and robbed of their money potentially before anyone would notice their disappearance and there would have to be no human contact necessary to deprive them of their funds. The process is so much simpler than conventional ransom kidnappings and a simpler process means that criminals could potentially get away with this much easier than with the conventional alternative.
Considering the above, how should you keep safe? Apart from the absolute minimum good security practice of not keeping your seed phrase on your desktop as keys.txt (unencrypted), you might want to try the best possible protection. Security by obscurity. Do not tell anyone that you own a lot of crypto. There is literally no point in you doing so. If you want to flex, buy yourself a suit from Valentino Couture and Oliver People's glasses, tell everyone you got a five o'clock res at Dorsia and that you are looking forward to eating sea-urchin ceviche there or maybe just show your friends your new business card. But do not flex with your wealth by revealing the scale of your wealth, not even to close friends. What if they brag that one of their friends is a crypto millionaire and the rumour spreads? Do not risk it. Stick to the crypto in cryptocurrency. Merriam Webster has this to say about the definition of crypto as an adjective: 'not openly avowed or declared —often used in combination'. I suggest any cryptocurrency bag holder memorise this definition and live by it, otherwise the consequences could be appalling.
