Recent violent incidents targeting cryptocurrency holders in France continue to escalate. The latest case occurred in Nancy, where the suspect allegedly posed as a police officer to carry out the attack, specifically targeting the victim’s cryptocurrency assets. The background of this case also links back to a data breach involving a cryptocurrency platform earlier this year.
The suspect has been formally charged.
According to local media reports, a 32-year-old man has been charged in Nancy, France, with attempted armed extortion, attempted kidnapping by an organized gang, and conspiracy to commit a crime. Prosecutors allege that he, along with two other men, posed as police officers to attack a married couple in an attempt to seize their crypto assets.
A couple was assaulted outside their residence.
Reports indicate that at the time of the incident, a 45-year-old woman was first stopped outside her apartment; her husband went outside to investigate after hearing unusual noises, and both were subsequently assaulted. The attackers fled after the couple’s two daughters called the police from inside the residence. Police found plastic zip ties and a five-euro banknote at the scene, and witnesses reported that the suspect was carrying an Uzi submachine gun.
The Waltio data breach is mentioned again.
An investigation points to a data breach at the French crypto tax filing platform Waltio in January. Reports suggest that the encrypted assets of a victim, amounting to approximately €20,000, may have been exposed. The breach affected around 50,000 users, compromising email addresses, 2024 trading profits and losses, and crypto asset balances. The hackers allegedly attempted to extort Waltio before selling the stolen data.
Waltio later warned users that attackers may impersonate customer service representatives, police, or security agencies to contact victims, gaining their trust by leveraging access to their email and approximate asset size. This case echoes another similar incident in France in March this year, when three fake police officers threatened a couple with knives and forced them to transfer $1 million worth of Bitcoin.
France is strengthening its response
As cases of crypto-kidnapping and violent extortion increase, French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau previously stated that he would convene industry representatives to discuss security issues. In April this year, French judicial authorities brought charges against 88 suspects, including minors, in 12 ongoing crypto-kidnapping investigations.
Additional information: These cases are commonly referred to as "wrench attacks," in which perpetrators use physical threats to force victims to surrender private keys, complete transfers, or unlock accounts—a trend that has recently expanded from online theft to physical violence.