Three men stole nearly $1 million worth of bitcoins from a husband and wife in their home.
Bitcoin Crime Operation Module
The French publication TF1 Info reported today that early Monday morning, a man and a woman in their fifties were held captive in their home in Le Chesnay Yvelines (France) by three people posing as police officers.
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According to TF1, the woman opened the door to her home when the men identified themselves as police, only to be pushed next to her husband and kidnapped. The slightly injured woman and her husband were forced to their sofa, where the man was tied up by the kidnappers. After that, one of these men pulled out a knife and threatened to attack the woman if her husband did not hand over 900,000 euros worth of bitcoins. At approximately 9:00 a.m., when the robbery was completed, the individuals fled in a white van. Only after this, the injured woman was able to untie her husband and call the neighbors for help.
Investigation
No one has been arrested yet. According to TF1, the prosecutor’s office in Versailles has opened an investigation into kidnapping and armed robbery by an organized group, as well as criminal conspiracy. The investigation is being carried out by the Brigade de Repression du Banditism (BRB).
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From online exploits to offline violent attacks
This isn’t an isolated nightmare: it’s the latest entry in a growing ledger of real-world Bitcoin heists.
On March 4th, as reported by sister website Bitcoinist, veteran trader “Mr. Silly” suffered a multi-million dollar heist where address poisoning and offline heisting combined to cost him nearly $24 million and put him off the market. On November 24, 2025, an armed robber attacked a San Francisco home, posing as a deliveryman. The modus operandi was very similar to Le Chesnay’s crime: the homeowner was locked out and the attacker took the victim’s cell phone, laptop and $11 million in cryptocurrency.
TF1 claims that kidnappings for cryptocurrencies have increased in France since 2025. Last January, Ledger co-founder David Balland was kidnapped by police and later released. Just last month, on February 12, the head of Binance France, as well as three (less prepared) people, were targeted in a failed home invasion at his residence in Val-de-Marne, French media outlet RTL News reported.
For Bitcoin holders, the lesson is simple: the attack surface has moved from your seed phrase to your front door.
BTC's price trends to the upside on the daily chart. Source: BTCUSDT on Tradingview
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