Armed men tie up woman in France and steal USB with cryptocurrencies

Source: PortaldoBitcoin Original Title: Armed Men Tie Up Woman in France and Steal USB with Cryptocurrencies Original Link: https://portaldobitcoin.uol.com.br/homens-armados-amarram-mulher-na-franca-e-roubam-usb-com-criptomoedas/ Three masked men broke into a house in Manosque, France, on Monday night (5), tied up a woman at gunpoint, and stole a USB drive containing her partner’s cryptocurrency data.

The incident occurred at a residence on Chemin Champs de Pruniers, in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department. The assailants threatened the victim with a firearm and assaulted her with slaps before grabbing the USB drive and fleeing.

The victim, who apparently was not injured, managed to free herself within minutes and contacted the police. An investigation was opened and entrusted to the local criminal investigation department and the regional directorate of the national police.

Last year, Jameson Lopp, CTO of security company Casa, documented over 70 “wrench attack” incidents related to cryptocurrencies worldwide in his public database. France emerged as a critical European hotspot for violent crypto-related crimes, with more than 14 such incidents recorded.

“The combination of France’s relatively high crime rate, visible concentrations of cryptocurrency wealth among founders, traders, and public figures, and the growing local knowledge of digital assets creates fertile conditions for opportunistic and organized crypto-related crimes,” said cybercrime consultant David Sehyeon Baek.

Baek stated that it is reasonable to expect that some established criminal networks in France will increasingly incorporate cryptocurrencies into their crimes when they offer “better margins,” “faster cross-border transfers,” or “less perceived traceability” than cash or traditional banking channels.

“Global liquidity, markets that never close, and the ability to move large sums of money across borders almost instantly” make cryptocurrencies an attractive target for criminals, he added.

The case comes amid revelations that a French tax official was indicted last June for abusing access to state tax databases to identify potential targets, including cryptocurrency investors, and passing their personal information to criminals.

According to reports, the official used internal Revenue software to search addresses, income data, and family information unrelated to her duties, in at least one case before a violent home invasion.

Judges stated that the searches could not be justified by her role, which was focused on corporate taxation.