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In Nice mother and son tied up for a $25,000 crypto account

A forensic officer in a protective suit places an evidence marker beside a shoe at a crime scene

On the evening of Sunday 6 September in Nice, two masked attackers burst into a private house, bound a mother and her adult son and took a phone with access codes to a cryptocurrency account worth $25,000. The Nice prosecutor’s office has opened a case of extortion involving a weapon and unlawful detention.

Attack on a private house

Two unknown masked individuals entered the house shortly before 11pm. Inside were a mother and her adult son: the attackers bound both and held them at gunpoint, demanding access to their digital assets.

As they left, the criminals took a wallet, a passport and two mobile phones. One of the phones contained access codes to a cryptocurrency wallet that held about $25,000 in digital currency — that account was emptied. The circumstances of the attack were reported by franceinfo, and further details are provided by Actu17.

The Nice prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation under articles concerning extortion with the use of a weapon and unlawful detention. The suspects are being sought; investigators have not yet established exactly how the raiders entered the house.

Wave of crypto kidnappings in France

The incident in Nice is not isolated. The National Prosecution Office for the Fight against Organised Crime (PNACO) has counted 135 kidnappings and attempted kidnappings related to digital assets since 2023.

Criminals increasingly target those who openly talk about investments in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies: social networks and forums provide attackers with a ready-made list of potentially wealthy wallet owners.

The most high-profile recent episode was the case in Dompierre-sur-Mer (Charente-Maritime department). In December 2025, three raiders bound and beat a married couple in their home and forced an investor to unlock a key and transfer €8 million. One of the suspects was arrested and charged only four months later, in April 2026 (link).

How to protect yourself from such attacks

Law enforcement advises cryptocurrency holders to follow basic precautions:

  • not to publish information about the size of your digital assets publicly;
  • store large sums on hardware wallets;
  • keep access codes and seed phrases where they cannot be reached by outsiders;
  • install CCTV and an intercom at home;
  • if threatened, call the police immediately on 17.

On the Côte d’Azur, bold property crimes are not unprecedented: in the summer in Nice a fraudster stole tourists’ belongings worth almost €100,000, and in early September there was another shooting in Cannes in the La Frayère district.

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Photo: TREEDEO.ST / Pexels