On October 22, three masked attackers broke into a home in Mont-de-Marsan, France, tying up an elderly couple with duct tape and cable ties before fleeing with a laptop.
According to local reports from Sud Ouest, the suspects remain on the run. While investigators have not yet confirmed the exact contents of the stolen computer, the targeted nature of the home invasion points to criminals physically assaulting citizens to steal their digital assets.
🇫🇷 Un couple de sexagénaires a été ligoté et menacé à son domicile dans les Landes par trois individus cagoulés réclamant des cryptomonnaies.
➡️ Les agresseurs ont pris la fuite avec un ordinateur et un téléphone. Leur fils, actif dans la crypto, a été placé sous protection policière.
— Journal du Coin (@LeJournalDuCoin) October 22, 2026
The incident started a debate online about the growing risks of crypto-related crime. User certysal argued that criminals are increasingly targeting digital assets because they can be easier to steal through physical coercion than funds held in traditional bank accounts, which often have additional security measures and transaction monitoring.
@PoyoEB It’s not really a France thing imo , more and more bad ppl are just discovering crypto now and have realised its pretty easy to take it.
You couldn’t kidnap someone and clear someone’s bank account before because it’ll be tracked. Crypto on the other hand……
— 𝐒𝐍𝐈𝐏𝐄𝐒🎯 (@certysal) October 22, 2026
However, no evidence presented so far confirms that a data leak was linked to this robbery.
Meanwhile, stenz0rdj warned that crypto holders could expose themselves to physical attacks by publicly displaying their wealth. The user stressed that details such as expensive cars, social media posts, and appearances at industry events can reveal more about someone’s financial status than blockchain records alone.
@DegenerateNews another one in france.
these guys don’t read the chain. they read your posts, your car, your flex at the last conference.
best security in 2026: nobody knows you hold anything.
— stenz0rd (@stenz0rdj) October 22, 2026
READ ALSO:France Increases Crypto Security Response After Kidnapping Cases Surge in 2026
France sees a nationwide surge in physical extortion
According to French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez, the country recorded 77 crypto-related kidnapping, extortion, and attempted extortion cases in just the first six months of 2026.
Unlike online scams, these attacks involve threats, home invasions, kidnapping, and physical violence to force victims to surrender crypto wallets, passwords, or devices that could provide access to their funds.
The targets are no longer limited to well-known crypto entrepreneurs or wealthy holders. Criminals can use family members as leverage to force victims to transfer funds or disclose wallet access. Chainalysis found that more than 40% of documented French incidents in its dataset involved relatives or acquaintances of crypto holders, rather than the holders themselves.
Criminals often target crypto holders with information from data leaks
Although police have not confirmed a data leak as the cause in this particular case, data leaks can sometimes help criminals identify people who hold digital assets and obtain their personal information, including where they live.
User Bullofdefi blamed alleged data leaks by French tax authorities, suggesting criminals could use confidential taxpayer information to identify wealthy crypto holders.
@PoyoEB All these kidnappings are because French tax authorities leaked data to organised criminals
It seems tax evasion is safer when living in France, not only cheaper
— Bull🐂 (@bullofdefi) October 22, 2026
Beyond corporate data breaches, criminals also actively monitor social media. Posting pictures of luxury cars or expensive watches, or bragging about trading profits online can put a target on their back.
In another development, French crypto platform Coinhouse has received authorization under the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework through France’s financial regulator Autorité des Marchés Financiers, placing it among the early firms operating under the new European rulebook.
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