Masked Gunmen Steal Crypto USB in France as Tax Official Caught Selling Data to Gangs
A lady was held captive by masked gunmen in Manosque after robbers focused her associate’s crypto USB drive.
The January 6 incident introduced France’s whole to 14 current assaults, main world statistics in accordance to safety researcher Jameson Lopp’s database.
Three hooded people entered the couple’s house on Chemin Champs de Pruniers round 7:30 p.m., in accordance to Le Parisien.
The attackers tied up the lady, threatened her with a handgun, and slapped her whereas demanding crypto information.
After seizing a USB drive, they fled. The sufferer freed herself and contacted police, rising bodily unhurt.
Tax Official Caught Selling Targeting Data to Criminal Gangs
The assault comes amid revelations that criminals entry authorities databases to establish crypto holders.
According to Le Parisien, tax official Ghalia C. was imprisoned on June 30, 2025, in Bobigny after utilizing tax software program to present addresses to organized crime.
Prosecutors say she looked for recordsdata on crypto buyers, billionaire Vincent Bolloré, and jail officers earlier than promoting the knowledge.
“She refused to give her telephone passcode and the identify of the one that employed her; that’s felony habits,” the general public prosecutor said. “This lady abused her place in a totally irregular method to serve a hardened felony.“
Investigators found Ghalia accessed “Mira” tax software program to find targets for violent robberies.
Her searches particularly included crypto buyers. One jail officer was attacked on September 26, 2024, when three armed males burst into his Montreuil house after she offered his tackle.
Police discovered giant money deposits and Western Union transfers in her accounts. She acquired roughly 800 euros per operation, in accordance to confessions from arrested henchmen.
Her lawyer, nonetheless, argued, “the justice system is making quite a lot of assumptions,” however prosecutors charged her in an identical Nancy case involving assaults on jail guards’ houses.
Physical Attacks Reach Record Levels
Physical violence against crypto holders has escalated dramatically, with Lopp’s database documenting 269 whole assaults since monitoring started.
The yr 2025 has recorded 65 incidents, averaging a couple of per week.
Criminals efficiently steal belongings in 2/3 of documented assaults, and 60% of perpetrators are ultimately captured.
France has emerged as a selected hotspot, with Parisian authorities believing one organized crime ring perpetrates a number of current kidnappings.
Western Europe accounts for 27% of worldwide assaults, adopted by North America at 24% and Asia-Pacific at 20%.
Market Correlation and Evolving Risk Assessment
Investor Haseeb Qureshi’s analysis revealed crucial insights about assault patterns.
His regression discovered a correlation of 0.67 between crypto market capitalization and assault frequency.
“Simple regression yields an R² of 0.45, which means 45% of the variance in violence is defined just by value,” Qureshi famous.
Normalization evaluation offered a nuanced perspective. When adjusting for inhabitants development, Qureshi discovered that “crypto was really extra harmful in 2015 and in 2018, again when crypto was very small.”
During that point, Coinbase’s month-to-month lively customers elevated 60x from 2 million to 120 million, which means violence has not grown proportionally.
“There has certainly been a current uptick in violent occasions per consumer,” Qureshi acknowledged. “But it’s a average enhance, roughly in line with 2021 charges of violence, and considerably decrease than pre-2019.“
Rising Violence Severity and Criminal Sophistication
Attacks have grown considerably extra violent. Haseeb’s severity classification exhibits 51% now categorised as “critical,” involving armed robbery, kidnapping, or home invasion.
Another 21% qualify as “extreme,” together with torture and severed physique elements, whereas deadly outcomes account for five%.
Criminals have adopted subtle ways, with house invasions representing 25% of assaults.
Perpetrators usually pose as delivery workers to gain entry, whereas kidnappings contain surveillance. OTC trades have develop into notably harmful, with attackers luring victims to resort rooms.
“Dubai is definitely from quite a few totally different views very dangerous,” Lopp famous, although including that Dubai maintains a 100% success charge in catching criminals earlier than they escape.
The UAE’s 9 recorded assaults all resulted in arrests, in distinction to jurisdictions the place criminals steadily evade seize.
Security Recommendations
“Shut up,” Lopp suggested bluntly. “Stop flaunting your wealth.”
His suggestions embody avoiding face-to-face trades, sustaining situational consciousness, refusing meals or drinks from untrusted sources, and implementing distributed multi-signature setups that make speedy fund motion troublesome.
Qureshi offered much more sensible steerage. He suggested to “keep in a secure metropolis, ideally in a constructing with 24/7 safety. Don’t put on crypto swag in public or sign that you’ve crypto on you.“
He beneficial utilizing companies like DeleteMe to take away private information from brokers, establishing PO bins for industrial mail, and sustaining separate scorching wallets with significant quantities that could possibly be surrendered with out compromising whole holdings.
The Manosque case stays underneath investigation, with monetary losses but to be assessed. Authorities proceed pursuing leads on the three suspects who stay at giant.
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