It happened again. Another crypto trader, this time just outside Paris, was apparently taken by force and held for a ransom demand. The details are pretty grim. The man, only identified as Alexandre, was found walking home around 4 a.m. on Wednesday. His face was swollen. Police say he’d been strangled until he passed out.
According to a report in *Le Parisien*, his captors sent a pretty disturbing photo to an acquaintance in Algeria. It showed Alexandre on his knees, tied up. They were asking for about 10,000 euros.
A Disturbing and Growing Pattern
This wasn’t a one-off thing. Far from it. Security folks are calling this kind of thing a “wrench attack,” and they say it’s becoming a major, and underreported, problem in France. A cybercrime consultant, David Sehyeon Baek, pointed out that a lot of these cases never even make the news. Victims often stay quiet. They’re scared for their reputation, or worried they’ll be targeted again if they talk.
France seems to be at the center of this in Europe. One database tracking these incidents counted about 10 in France just this year. That’s roughly a third of all the cases reported across the whole continent.
Why Crypto Makes a Target
It’s the nature of the asset, I suppose. The money can be moved across borders instantly and, to some extent, anonymously. But what’s interesting in Alexandre’s case is that the kidnappers asked for euros, not Bitcoin or Ethereum. Karan Pujara, who runs a scam defense platform, noted that even when traditional cash is demanded, the world of crypto is what makes these people targets in the first place.
The main advice from experts is painfully simple: don’t show off. Don’t flaunt your gains online. It just paints a target on your back.
An Escalation of Violence
This isn’t just about online scams anymore. We’re seeing organized groups get involved, using really brutal methods. It feels like a shift. They see crypto traders as easy targets with a lot of value to extract.
We saw it earlier this year with the Ledger co-founder, who was tortured. There was also that horrible case involving the Paymium CEO’s pregnant daughter. French police have made some arrests, charging a bunch of people, many of them surprisingly young.
The pseudonymous part of crypto is one thing, but the instant movement of money is another. It creates a perfect storm for this kind of crime. Pujara explained that if scammers can’t get what they want online, some are clearly willing to escalate to physical harm. It doesn’t seem to matter how you store your crypto.
Without better security habits and more cooperation between police internationally, consultants like Baek think this is just going to keep getting worse. For now, investigators are checking Alexandre’s story and looking for evidence on his clothes. It’s a messy, frightening situation that shows no signs of slowing down.
