After latest kidnap attempt, crypto types tell crime bosses: Transfers are traceable
trace it
After latest kidnap attempt, crypto types tell crime bosses: Transfers are traceable
Crypto abduction attempts continue to rock France.
Nate Anderson
–
May 15, 2025 4:34 pm
|
45
The kidnapping attempt in progress.
Credit:
France24
The kidnapping attempt in progress.
Credit:
France24
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Masked men jumped out of a white-panel van in Paris this week, attempting to snatch a 34-year-old woman off the street. The woman's husband fought back and suffered a fractured skull, according to France24. The woman continued resisting long enough for a bike shop owner named Nabil to rush out swinging a fire extinguisher, which he hurled after the departing van as the attackers finally fled. The entire altercation was captured on video.
The woman was identified as the daughter of a "crypto boss," and her attempted kidnapping is part of a disquieting surge in European crypto-related abductions—two of which have already involved fingers being chopped off. The last major abduction happened in Paris only two weeks ago, and it ended with French police storming a house in the Paris suburbs and rescuing a crypto mogul's now-four-fingered father.
The attacks have spooked the industry, which has called, somewhat ironically, for enhanced protections from the government. Reuters notes that the issue has been escalated all the way to the top of the French government, where Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau announced plans this week to "meet with French crypto entrepreneurs to make them aware of the risks and to take measures to protect them."
The sudden spike in copycat attacks in France, Belgium, and Spain over the last few months suggests that crypto robbery as a tactic has caught the attention of organized crime.Crypto industry insiders seem convinced that organized crime likes these attacks because of abelief that crypto transfers are untraceable. So people like Chainalysis CEO Jonathan Levin are trying to clue in the crime bosses.
"For whatever reason, there is a perception that’s out there that crypto is an asset that is untraceable, and that really lends itself to criminals acting in a certain way," Levin said at a recent conference covered by the trade publication Cointelegraph.
“Apparently, thethat crypto is not untraceable hasn't been received by some of the organized crime groups that are actually perpetrating these attacks, and some of them are concentrated in, you know, France, but not exclusively."
Nate Anderson
Deputy Editor
Nate Anderson
Deputy Editor
Nate is the deputy editor at Ars Technica. His most recent book is In Emergency, Break Glass: What Nietzsche Can Teach Us About Joyful Living in a Tech-Saturated World, which is much funnier than it sounds.
45 Comments
#after #latest #kidnap #attempt #crypto
After latest kidnap attempt, crypto types tell crime bosses: Transfers are traceable
trace it
After latest kidnap attempt, crypto types tell crime bosses: Transfers are traceable
Crypto abduction attempts continue to rock France.
Nate Anderson
–
May 15, 2025 4:34 pm
|
45
The kidnapping attempt in progress.
Credit:
France24
The kidnapping attempt in progress.
Credit:
France24
Story text
Size
Small
Standard
Large
Width
*
Standard
Wide
Links
Standard
Orange
* Subscribers only
Learn more
Masked men jumped out of a white-panel van in Paris this week, attempting to snatch a 34-year-old woman off the street. The woman's husband fought back and suffered a fractured skull, according to France24. The woman continued resisting long enough for a bike shop owner named Nabil to rush out swinging a fire extinguisher, which he hurled after the departing van as the attackers finally fled. The entire altercation was captured on video.
The woman was identified as the daughter of a "crypto boss," and her attempted kidnapping is part of a disquieting surge in European crypto-related abductions—two of which have already involved fingers being chopped off. The last major abduction happened in Paris only two weeks ago, and it ended with French police storming a house in the Paris suburbs and rescuing a crypto mogul's now-four-fingered father.
The attacks have spooked the industry, which has called, somewhat ironically, for enhanced protections from the government. Reuters notes that the issue has been escalated all the way to the top of the French government, where Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau announced plans this week to "meet with French crypto entrepreneurs to make them aware of the risks and to take measures to protect them."
The sudden spike in copycat attacks in France, Belgium, and Spain over the last few months suggests that crypto robbery as a tactic has caught the attention of organized crime.Crypto industry insiders seem convinced that organized crime likes these attacks because of abelief that crypto transfers are untraceable. So people like Chainalysis CEO Jonathan Levin are trying to clue in the crime bosses.
"For whatever reason, there is a perception that’s out there that crypto is an asset that is untraceable, and that really lends itself to criminals acting in a certain way," Levin said at a recent conference covered by the trade publication Cointelegraph.
“Apparently, thethat crypto is not untraceable hasn't been received by some of the organized crime groups that are actually perpetrating these attacks, and some of them are concentrated in, you know, France, but not exclusively."
Nate Anderson
Deputy Editor
Nate Anderson
Deputy Editor
Nate is the deputy editor at Ars Technica. His most recent book is In Emergency, Break Glass: What Nietzsche Can Teach Us About Joyful Living in a Tech-Saturated World, which is much funnier than it sounds.
45 Comments
#after #latest #kidnap #attempt #crypto
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