[nybble41]

> Dragging "innocents" into it might just get us to a system that makes it hard for extortionists.

If you're willing to harm innocents for the sake of your cause—even if the goal is to make things harder for extortionists—then you're no better than those you're fighting.

[lolc]

I see this as an example where the ends can justify the means. The maximum loss those people could incur would be the sums exchanged. If those are restored to the damaged party I don't see how there's a good reason to protect the people who traded. They can still demand restoration from their partners after all. If they traded with crooks, they might get nothing back. Such is life.

To say this is the moral equivalence of extortion is a long shot.