Sleepless night in Saint-Juéry. La Dépêche du Midi published on October 11 the testimony of Lucas, video game developer in Saint-Juéry (Tarn). Two armed, hooded men broke into his house in the middle of the night in early September to extort his cryptocurrencies. They had to flee empty-handed. This crypto attack is added to a dark series, a few days after the story of these repeated attacks on a wallet of 300 euros in Picardy.
A crypto attack at 3 a.m. at the bottom of a dead end
It was around 3 a.m. when lights woke the young man. Two hooded and gloved individuals entered through the garage, the gate of which remained ajar, then went straight upstairs. They seemed to know the places, according to the story collected by La Dépêche. The two men threaten Lucas and his partner with a gun. The young man receives a blow to the head with a rifle butt.
The attackers first ask for his wallet (the digital wallet which gives access to cryptocurrencies). They then take his phone and unlock it using facial recognition. Bad pick. The funds are not there.
Lucas then throws himself at one of the two men. He grabs a tear gas canister from a dresser and empties the gas into the room. The air becomes unbreathable and the two individuals flee. Resisting armed men, however, remains a very risky bet, and the night could have ended much worse.
Personal data leaked before crypto attack
The house is at the end of a dead end along the Tarn, where no one passes by chance. Lucas has lived there for two years. According to him, his personal data was circulating online after a hack which he attributes to FranceConnect, the service for identifying administrative procedures. Investigators do not confirm this point at this stage.
Moreover, the investigators know this pattern. An address and a hint of digital heritage are enough to send performers on site. At the beginning of October, the crypto referent of the Amiens research section described the same mechanism. Holder files are in fact resold on clandestine markets.
Then, on the night of September 30 to October 1, a relative of Lucas saw five hooded individuals in front of his house north of Albi. The triggering of a light alarm made them flee. Lucas filed a complaint the same day of the attack. The Albi public prosecutor's office is supervising the investigation into attempted aggravated extortion, but has not announced any arrests.
More than 70 crypto kidnappings in eight months in France
The young Tarnais has decided. He sold all his cryptocurrencies and made it known publicly. His message targets his attackers: “I no longer have crypto, I sold everything. Leave me alone ! »
The National Anti-Organized Crime Prosecutor's Office (PNACO) has recorded more than 70 kidnappings and kidnappings linked to cryptocurrencies over the first eight months of 2026. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez presented a plan on July 2 that strengthens intelligence and coordination between the police and the gendarmerie. It also provides for a network of experts set up alongside Adan (the sector association). However, the amounts involved matter little. In Jouy-en-Josas at the end of August, attackers kidnapped and beat a man for two hours for 3,000 euros.
Holding cryptocurrencies does not make you an automatic target. The risk comes mainly from what others know about you. So talk little about your assets and don’t display your earnings on social networks. Finally, do not keep access to your funds on the phone you have in your pocket.
