Fake Police Officers Hold French Couple at Knifepoint in $1 Million Bitcoin Robbery

Authorities in the Versailles area are searching for three suspects after a home invasion in which the attackers allegedly posed as police officers and stole cryptocurrency.

A couple in their 50s was forced to transfer approximately 900,000 euros (about a million dollars) in bitcoin after three men posing as police officers entered his home in Le Chesnay, near Versailles, according to French broadcaster TF1.

The suspects allegedly gained entry by identifying themselves as police officers before pulling out a knife and threatening to stab the woman unless her partner sent Bitcoin to a wallet they controlled, TF1 reported, citing sources close to the investigation.

The Versailles prosecutor’s office confirmed the cryptocurrency theft, according to local reports, and said the case is being handled by the French Brigade for the Suppression of Banditry (BRB). At the time of publication, no arrests had been announced and potential charges were reported to include kidnapping, armed robbery, racketeering and criminal conspiracy.

Spanner attacks in France

The theft fits a growing pattern of “five-dollar wrench attacks,” in which criminals use physical coercion rather than technical compromises to seize digital assets. These cases have become a growing security concern for cryptocurrency holders, as victims are attacked in their homes, often after criminals have identified potential victims through public signs, leaks, or social engineering.

France has become a hotbed of “spanner attacks,” which have included violent home raids targeting cryptocurrency executives, demands for cryptocurrency ransoms, and the kidnapping and mutilation of Ledger CEO David Balland. Last May, French police arrested 12 suspects linked to cryptocurrency hijacking investigations, but the crime wave shows no signs of stopping.