French couple forced to hand over $1M in Bitcoin by criminals posing as police
A French couple was forced to transfer about $1 million in Bitcoin during a fake police home invasion as wrench attacks keep rising, local media reported.
A French couple in their late 50s was forced to hand over about 900,000 euros ($1 million) in Bitcoin during a fake police raid at their home west of Paris in the latest violent attack targeting cryptocurrency holders in France, according to TF1 Info and Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Three suspects posing as police officers entered the couple’s home Monday morning in Le Chesnay-Rocquencourt, in the Yvelines department, and forced the husband to transfer the Bitcoin (BTC) while threatening the pair with a knife, according to TF1 Info and AFP. The attackers then tied up the man, injured both victims and fled in a white van, the reports said.
The woman later freed her husband and alerted neighbors at about 9:00 am local time, according to the reports. The Versailles prosecutor’s office said the case is being investigated by the Brigade for the Repression of Banditry on allegations including sequestration, armed robbery by an organized gang and criminal conspiracy. No arrests had been announced as of Tuesday.