Blockchain investigator ZachXBT says he’s noticed an uptick in messages from people alleging they are the victims of in person crypto robbery.
In an Oct. 10 post, the onchain sleuth said he had received messages from multiple victims of crypto home invasion thefts “in Western Europe over the past few months at a much higher rate than other regions.”
He made the same claim in a Sept. 27 message shared via his Telegram channel, saying he knew of several individuals in the crypto community who had been held at gunpoint and had their crypto stolen in recent months.
At the same time, ZachXBT claims to have found evidence that an X user who was robbed of $4.3 million in crypto during a June 2024 home invasion had his address and personal information stolen after a data breach, which allowed thieves to track them down.
Source: ZachXBT
He says the thieves researched the victim, then pretended to deliver a package to the victim’s home, entering the premises armed with machetes.
They then forced the victim to open their ledger and transfer crypto to two wallet addresses. ZachXBT says both addresses are still dormant.
“While this is a cautionary tale and hopefully this will help lead to arrests here are some measures you can take to protect yourself,” ZachXBT said.
“Avoid sharing personal information or details about your crypto holdings to friends or to flex on social media.”
According to GitHub, there have been at least 15 recorded incidents of offline crypto robbery in different countries over the last year, around 17 in 2023, and 32 in 2021.
The online platform lists incidents of in person crypto theft dating back to 2014 when an unknown caller allegedly tried to extort computer scientist and cryptographer Hal Finney of 1,000 Bitcoin (BTC), worth $400,000 at the time.
Related: Home invaders used machete, Toblerone to rob a man of his Bitcoin
In a more recent case, Nick Drakon, the former CEO of crypto research and education platform Revelo Intel, claimed in a Sept. 5 post on X that he was targeted, surveilled and robbed by a highly sophisticated group, who threatened his wife and eight-month-old son.
He stepped down from his position as CEO of Revelo Intel after he revealed he was held at gunpoint and forced to transfer personal, company and investor funds.
On June 25, a Florida man was convicted of leading multiple violent home invasions aimed at stealing crypto.
Between December 2022 and July 2023, the gang reportedly used violence, kidnapping and threats to intimidate people, forcing them to transfer their crypto holdings to wallet addresses controlled by the thieves.