Crypto homejacking in Taverny: attackers target outdated assets

The map is not the territory. Taverny, Val-d'Oise, July 13, 2026. Three hooded and gloved men burst into a family's home, tie up the mother and their 10-year-old child then attack the father with an electric pulse gun. They want his cryptocurrencies. Their tip came from a file stolen from Waltio, whose data leak had already alarmed French investors in January, specifies Le Parisien.

About a hundred euros remained in the victim's account. Six suspects were indicted two months later.

Crypto homejacking in Taverny: 900 euros in transfers demanded under threat

Homejacking is burglary with the occupants at home, held while they take what is valuable. The Taverny attackers knew exactly what they were looking for. They are demanding cryptocurrency transfers from the father's Waltio account, according to the Pontoise prosecutor's office cited by Le Parisien on September 23.

Problem for them. The assets shown in the stolen data dated back to 2024 and had since disappeared. Under the shocks and threats, the victim ends up delivering his access codes, which open up a wallet of around 100 euros.

The criminals then change targets and demand two transfers of 450 euros from the wife. They also raid computers, telephones and jewelry before leaving with a few hundred euros in their pocket, far from the imagined jackpot.

Data leaks in France: the sword of Damocles

Waltio helps individuals calculate and declare the taxation of their cryptoassets. The company discovered a leak in January 2026 affecting its clients' tax reports. Email addresses and balances as of December 31, 2024 were found in the wild, and the Paris prosecutor's office entrusted the investigation to the national cyber unit of the gendarmerie.

This kind of file is worth gold to crooks. An email address and a balance are enough to draw up a list of targets. In Taverny, however, the process stumbled on one detail, because an eighteen-month-old tax photo says nothing about the current portfolio of the person concerned.

Crypto sequestration: internet recruits and a sponsor in prison

The investigation was carried out by the banditry suppression group of the Val-d’Oise interdepartmental judicial police service. Six men were identified and then presented to an investigating judge on September 11, 2026.

They are indicted for theft and extortion by an organized gang with weapons, kidnapping by an organized gang and criminal association. Three of them are in pre-trial detention.

The profile of the executioners is not like an elite commando. These are mainly young men enrolled via social networks in several regions. Some already had a past as second-class criminals. And the alleged order giver would be a man already incarcerated in Auxerre (Yonne), who allegedly carried out the attack without leaving his cell.