French Couple Extorted for $1M in Bitcoin by Fake Police

TF1 Info and Agence France-Presse reported that a couple in their late 50s handed over about €900,000 ($1 million) in Bitcoin after three people posing as police staged a raid at their home in Le Chesnay-Rocquencourt, west of Paris. The attackers entered Monday morning, forced the husband to transfer the Bitcoin while threatening the pair with a knife, then tied up the man, injured both victims and fled in a white van.

The woman later freed her husband and alerted neighbors at about 9:00 am local time. 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.

The incident adds to a surge in so-called wrench attacks, in which criminals use threats or violence to force crypto holders to surrender digital assets.

France, Le Chesnay-Rocquencourt

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