Four armed men tied up a family of four in northern France and forced the father to transfer about €40,000 in cryptocurrency during the latest attack in a growing wave of so-called “crypto-rapts”.
The incident took place at about 04:00 in Vendin-le-Vieil, where the attackers broke into the family home carrying at least a knife and an iron bar, according to La Voix du Nord and Le Parisien.
The group bound a 40-year-old information technology specialist who works in cryptocurrency, his 41-year-old partner and their two children, aged 12 and eight. The father was separated from the rest of the family, while the mother and children were kept under guard.
For between two and three hours, the attackers allegedly demanded the father’s account codes and login details. He was punched and threatened before being made to initiate the transfer.
Reports said the 12-year-old girl was hit on the head with car keys to wake her. The four men then left after the cryptocurrency had been sent.
Firefighters found the family in shock at about 07:00. The identities of the suspects, the cryptocurrency involved and the destination wallet have not been released.
Remote instructions
The men were reportedly in contact throughout the raid with a fifth person by telephone. Local reports said they spoke Arabic during the call so the family could not understand what was being discussed.
The arrangement points to a division of roles, with the attackers at the house apparently taking instructions from a remote coordinator who could check whether the digital transfer had been completed.
French authorities use the term “cryptorapts” for physical extortion attacks aimed at people connected to cryptocurrency. Instead of using malware or breaking into digital systems, criminals use violence and threats against victims and their families to obtain access to crypto accounts.
France has become the main centre for such attacks in Europe, with independent trackers estimating that it accounts for about 80% of documented physical crypto attacks across the continent.
French police have recorded 135 crypto-linked incidents since 2023. There were 18 cases in 2024, while Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said 77 cases had been registered in the first half of 2026 alone.
A total of 88 people, including minors, have been charged in active cases. Police have also identified repeated names across different investigations, suggesting the involvement of organised networks rather than isolated groups.
The home invasion is being investigated by local judicial police. The French Anti-Cybercrime Office is tracing the stolen funds through the blockchain.
Although the €40,000 taken in Vendin-le-Vieil was less than the millions involved in some other French ransom cases, investigators are examining how the family was selected. They have yet to establish whether information came from a compromised customer database, social media or a paid list of potential targets.
