Masked Gunmen Steal Crypto USB in France as Tax Authority Sells Data to Hackers
Crypto journalist
Anas Hasan
Crypto journalist
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A woman has been kidnapped by masked gunmen in Manosque after thugs targeted her partner's crypto USB drive.
The Jan. 6 incident brought France's total to 14 recent attacks, according to a database of global statistics by security researcher James Loup.
Three men entered the couple's home in Chemin Champs de Prunier at 1:30 p.m., according to Le Parisien.
The attackers tied up the woman, threatened her with a gun and slapped her as they demanded crypto data.
After grabbing the USB drive, they fled. The victim freed herself, contacted police and was found unharmed.
The tax authority was caught selling targeted information to criminal groups
The attack comes as it is revealed that criminals are accessing government databases to identify crypto holdings.
According to Le Parisien, tax official Galia C was arrested on June 30, 2025 in Bobigny after using tax software to provide addresses for organized crime.
Prosecutors said she sought files on crypto investors, billionaire Vincent Bolloré and prison officials before selling the information.
“She refused to give her phone passcode and the name of the person she hired, which is criminal behavior,” the public prosecutor said. “This woman has abused her position in a completely unusual way to serve a serious criminal.”
Investigators have confirmed that Galia accessed the “Mira” tax software to find targets for extortion.
Her search specifically includes crypto investors. In the year On September 26, 2024, three armed men entered a Montreuil home and attacked a prison officer after she gave him the address.
Police found large cash deposits and Western Union transfers in her accounts. According to the sheriffs who arrested her, she received about 800 euros for each operation.
Her attorney argued that “the justice system is taking too many guesses,” but prosecutors charged Nancy with an attack on a prison guard's home.
Physical attacks reach record levels
The Loop database has recorded 269 total attacks since monitoring began.
In the year 2025 recorded 65 events, an average of more than one per week.
Criminals successfully steal assets in 2/3 of documented attacks, and 60% of perpetrators are eventually caught.
France has become a unique location, with Paris authorities believing an organized crime ring is responsible for many of the recent kidnappings.
Western Europe accounts for 27% of global attacks, followed by North America at 24% and Asia-Pacific at 20%.
Market linkage and growth risk assessment
Investor Haseb Qureshi's analysis revealed critical insights into attack patterns.
His analysis found a correlation of 0.67 between crypto market capitalization and attack frequency.
“A simple regression yields an R² of 0.45, meaning that 45% of the variance in attack is simply explained by price,” Qureshi said.
Normalization analysis provided a unique perspective. Adjusted for population growth, Qureshi noted that “in 2015 and 2018, when crypto was much smaller, crypto was much more risky.
In that time, Coinbase's monthly active users have grown 60x from 2 million to 120 million, meaning that attacks haven't grown proportionately.
“There has certainly been a recent spike in violent incidents per user,” Qureshi said. But that's a modest increase relative to 2021 levels of violence and significantly less than before 2019.
The increasing severity of violence and the complexity of crime
Attacks have actually become more violent. 51% of Haseb's severity classification is now classified as “aggravated,” which includes armed robberies, kidnappings, or home invasions.
Another 21% qualified as “severe” including torture and mutilation, with fatal outcomes accounting for 5%.
Criminals have adopted sophisticated tactics, with home invasions representing 25% of attacks.
Criminals often pose as delivery workers to gain entry, while kidnapping involves surveillance. The OTC business has become particularly dangerous, with attackers luring victims into hotel rooms.
Although Dubai has a 100% success rate in catching criminals before they can escape, Loup said, “Dubai is really dangerous from different perspectives.
In the United Arab Emirates, nine attacks resulted in arrests, unlike other jurisdictions where the perpetrators eluded capture.
Safety tips
“Shut up,” Lope admonished sternly. “Stop flaunting your wealth.”
The recommendations include avoiding face-to-face transactions, maintaining situational awareness, not accepting food or drinks from untrusted sources, and implementing distributed multi-signature structures that make quick cash movements difficult.
Qureshi gave more practical guidance. “He advised staying in a safe city, preferably in a building with 24/7 security.
He advises using services like DeleteMe to remove personal data from brokers, setting up mailboxes for business mail, and maintaining a variety of fresh wallets that can be issued without compromising entire holdings.
Manosque's case is under investigation, financial losses have not yet been assessed. Authorities are continuing to investigate the three suspects who were arrested.
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