Landes couple tied up in second crypto home invasion since August

A home invasion occurred in Mont-de-Marsan on Thursday morning. A couple in their 60s were tied up by three masked men who broke into their home and demanded cryptocurrency. 

The masked men carted away a laptop and phone. This would be the second attack of this nature in France’s Landes region since August.

What happened inside the Mont-de-Marsan Residence?

Based on reports, the burglars invaded in the early hours of Thursday, around 3 am. The intruders woke the couple from their sleep, tied them up using adhesive tape and plastic zip ties, before forcing them to hand over their crypto. 

When the intruders were reportedly getting frustrated with their captives, one of them struck the 63-year-old husband on the back of the head using an adjustable wrench.

The invaders ended up fleeing with a laptop and a mobile phone. 

After the invaders departed, the couple phoned the police and were rushed to the hospital for checks by firefighters. Police officers recovered the tools used in the assault, but the three invaders are still at large.

Why investigators believe the son was the target

Authorities believe the intended target was the son of the couple. They arrived at this conclusion after their investigations revealed the nature of the son’s work. He works in the crypto sector but lives at a separate address. He has been placed under police protection.

It is quite unusual for burglars to steal a laptop. However, a laptop or phone can be used to store crypto wallets or private keys, making them quite valuable. The wallet will be worth very little if it is encrypted.

This is not the first incident of this kind in the region. A similar incident happened in August, involving a couple in Rion-des-Landes who were kidnapped in their home after their captors demanded access to their bitcoin. 

Later on, the husband was found naked and injured in Solférino, while his wife was found in a vehicle close by. Two suspects were arrested, and the Bordeaux interregional jurisdiction took charge of the case.

France’s wrench attack problem keeps growing

Wrench attacks have been on the rise in France lately. Wrench attacks are incidents where criminals make use of physical violence to coerce victims into surrendering their digital assets.

The number of crypto-related crimes in the country went up in the first half of 2026, with 77 recorded cases of kidnapping, extortion, or attempted extortion, and about 200 arrests. The Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez made the announcement.

Up to 33 of the 52 wrench attacks that have occurred in the first half of the year have happened in France, according to CertiK, a blockchain security firm. 

CertiK believes the blame lies on the size of France’s crypto sector, public display of wealth, and a run of data leaks that give criminals important information on targets. The tax authority in France fell victim to one of the data leaks sometime this year, and it exposed the records of 678,000 taxpayers, including their names, addresses, and income figures.

 Prosecutions are mounting, but the pace of the attacks has not eased. France has carried the “crypto kidnapping capital“ label since early in the year.