Four masked men broke into a house in Vendin-le-Vieil at around 4 a.m. on Sunday and bound a couple and their two children with tape.
The father, a salaried IT worker in the crypto sector, was taken to a separate room and forced to hand over his access codes and personal identification.
Some €40 000, about $46 000, was stolen. All four suspects remain at large.
Early Sunday morning, four hooded intruders entered a family home in the northern French town of Vendin-le-Vieil, seized the occupants, and compelled the father to transfer roughly €40 000 in cryptocurrency. The incident was reported by BFMTV and confirmed by the Béthune prosecutor’s office.
The men tied the parents and their eight‑ and twelve‑year‑old children with black tape and remained in the house for more than three hours. During the intrusion, the father was assaulted in a separate room, while his twelve‑year‑old daughter was struck in the face with car keys, according to sources close to the investigation.
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The intruders searched the residence, separated the father, and forced him to provide identification and cryptocurrency access codes. After stealing the cash, they departed before the family could free themselves. Emergency services arrived at approximately 7 a.m., and the victims were later taken to a forensic medical examination. All four individuals remain at large.
The family has been placed under the assistance of a victim‑support organization. French authorities have classified the incident as kidnapping and extortion carried out by an organized crime group. The case is being handled by the regional judicial police in coordination with the national anti‑cybercrime unit.
Wrench attacks in France
Recent “wrench” attacks in France have frequently targeted individuals perceived to possess significant wealth. Notable victims include a crypto millionaire whose finger was severed, the spouse of a Sandbox co‑founder, and the CEO of Binance France. Unlike many prior incidents, this assault involved a salaried IT specialist rather than a high‑profile crypto entrepreneur, and the amount seized was in the low tens of thousands of euros.
France currently records the highest number of such incidents globally. The national anti‑organized‑crime prosecutor’s office reported over 70 kidnappings or unlawful detentions linked to cryptocurrency in the first eight months of 2026, resulting in 88 individuals being charged, some of whom are minors, following a recent crackdown.
Globally, Chainalysis estimates that $30 million was taken in wrench attacks during 2026, while CertiK’s data shows losses reaching $124 million across a six‑month span—an twelvefold increase from previous years.
