The first ransom note ever recorded in American history dates back to 1876. At the time, kidnappers took a young boy from Philadelphia and demanded payment of $20,000 as a ransom for his safe return.

Just like today, when many ransom notes get translated into several languages very poorly, the ransom note was laden with spelling and grammar mistakes. The kidnappers had written:

"he al writ we is got him…, you wil hav two pay us befor you git him from us".

Ransomware exists for one reason, to extort payments from victims. This may sound trivial, but I am personally glad that all the attackers are asking for is money. The scheme is to hold a precious possession hostage and demand payment for its return. In the case of crypto ransomware, the precious possession is the files on the victim's computer.