Crypto-Related Abductions Are on the Rise Globally

Cryptocurrency is one of the leading drivers of cybercrime, but a new report from the Wall Street Journal indicates it is increasingly becoming the target of crime in the real world, too. As more whales and major holders of cryptocurrencies shift their assets to cold wallets that can’t be accessed online, they are becoming targets or real-life thefts, abductions, and robberies.

According to the Journal, there have been dozens of “wrench attacks”—or assaults that use simple tools to inflict pain and coerce victims—reported to governments around the world in the past year that saw victims targeted for their cryptocurrency holdings, including at least five in France alone in the last several months.

A few high-profile examples of attempted real-life robberies have grabbed headlines, perhaps most notably when popular Twitch streamer Amouranth was the target of a break-in at her Houston home this March. Three people entered her complex and demanded that she hand over her cryptocurrency holdings. They stole her laptop before being chased off by the streamer’s husband, which was ultimately recovered and the attackers never gained access to her digital currency.

That case turned out to be a trio of teens responsible, but the Journal reports that there are indications that organized crime rings may be involved in some of the thefts. Last year, a 24-year-old Florida man named Remy St. Felix was sentenced to 47 years in jail for serving as the leader of a crime ring that carried out multiple home invasions that targeted cryptocurrency holders. The group was able to steal a total of $3.5 million in cryptocurrency by binding victims, holding them at gunpoint, and demanding they transfer their holdings.

As for how these attackers pick their victims, there are a variety of factors but it often starts with their online profile. People who flaunt their wealth are often targeted. A series of hacks of popular cryptocurrency trading platforms including Coinbase and Ledger have made information about potential cryptocurrency holders available to attackers, as well. In the case of Ledger, names, email, and postal addresses from the company’s marketing database were posted online and exposed more than 270,000 people.

The CEO of Ledger, David Balland, was also a victim of one of these physical attacks—a brutal abduction that saw him and his wife kidnapped and held for nearly two days while their captors demanded a crypto ransom be paid to them. The attackers cut off one of Balland’s fingers and sent pictures of it to his fellow executives at Ledge to pressure them to transfer the payment. The two were ultimately let go after multiple payments were made. According to WSJ, the attack, along with a series of others in France that have targeted cryptocurrency executives, led to French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau meeting with the industry to discuss security measures for the sector.