The theft of cryptocurrency evokes a sharp sense of helplessness. Crypto transactions are recorded on the blockchain, and even if a criminal seizes your money, it remains visible for viewing. This was reported by the BBC.
“You see your funds in the public blockchain, but you cannot get them back,” shares Helen, who lost about $315,000 (£250,000) due to the actions of criminals.
She compares it to a situation where you see a thief taking your valuables, but you are on the other side of an insurmountable chasm.
Helen and her husband Richard (name changed) had been collecting Cardano cryptocurrency for seven years while living in the UK.
For them, it was a way to invest in an asset that had the potential for significant growth, unlike traditional methods of saving money. They understood the risks but carefully guarded their digital keys.
However, hackers somehow gained access to their cloud storage, where information about their crypto wallets was kept.
In February 2024, after a small test transaction, the criminals conducted a quick and unnoticed attack and transferred all the couple's funds to their wallets.
Since then, Helen and Richard have been watching the movements of their money from one wallet to another, remaining unable to take any action. (The paradox of cryptocurrency: all transactions are public, but users can remain anonymous.)
They are not wealthy: Helen works as a personal assistant, and Richard is a composer, and their hopes for investing in Cardano were high.
“We collected these coins for so long… We spent every penny to acquire them,” says Richard. “This theft is the worst thing that has happened to me, apart from the death of my parents.”
Helen is now striving to get her money back. She has contacted various police departments and the developers of Cardano, receiving reports. However, with the criminals' wallet address in hand, she realizes that exposing them is not possible.
The couple plans to raise funds to hire private detectives to find the hackers.
“It’s a feeling of helplessness,” she says, “but I’m not going to give up.”
Increase in Cryptocurrency Crimes
According to a survey conducted in August 2024 for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), about 12% of the adult population in the UK owns crypto assets, which amounts to around seven million people.
According to data, 560 million people worldwide already own cryptocurrency. However, with the increase in the number of owners, the number of thefts is also rising. The pandemic contributed to the increase in the value of cryptocurrencies, which in turn led to an increase in attacks on this sector.
2025 was a record year for crypto criminals: according to the analytics company Chainalysis, the total amount stolen exceeded $3.4 billion (£2.5 billion). This level has remained stable since 2020.
The majority of the funds are stolen as a result of large cyberattacks on cryptocurrency companies. For example, in February 2025, North Korean hackers stole $1.5 billion (£1.1 billion) from the cryptocurrency exchange Bybit.
In this and most similar cases, losses are covered by large crypto firms, which does not affect individual investors. However, in 2025, the number of attacks on private crypto investors also increased.
According to Chainalysis, the number of such attacks rose from 40,000 in 2022 to 80,000 last year.
As a result of hacks, fraud, or coercion, about 20% of all cryptocurrency was stolen, equivalent to $713 million (£532 million).
However, this number could be significantly higher, as not all victims report thefts. In such cases, they may be left without support.
In many cases, thefts in the traditional financial sector are covered by banks or card-issuing companies. In the UK, there is an option to file a complaint with the financial ombudsman for compensation under the financial services protection scheme.
“Cryptocurrencies in the UK are still largely unregulated and carry a high risk,” reports the FCA. “If something goes wrong, you are unlikely to be protected, so be prepared for a total loss of your funds.”
A search on the internet for “hacked Binance account” is a vivid example. Binance is the largest cryptocurrency exchange with 1.4 million users in the UK, but the advice page for victims of theft is blocked for users from the country.
Since 2023, the company has not been accepting new clients from the UK due to a lack of FCA approval. However, criminals do not care about the location of their victims and continue to target people around the world.
Chainalysis described attacks on individuals as “a little-studied area of crypto crime.”
In their opinion, the increase in crime is linked to the rise in the number of new cryptocurrency investors amid rising prices and that improved security measures in major services may push criminals to attack more vulnerable users.
The more cryptocurrency you have and the more you talk about it, the higher the likelihood of becoming a victim of fraud — small investors (or “hodlers,” as they are called) are less likely to become targets.
Hacks, Robberies, and Wrench Attacks
Criminals can operate from anywhere.
In October, blockchain analysts from Elliptic warned that North Korean-sponsored hackers are increasingly targeting wealthy cryptocurrency owners. Many young people from other countries can also be found among the fraudsters.
In December, a 22-year-old Evan Tangeman in the US pleaded guilty to participating in a group of crypto fraudsters called Social Engineering Enterprise, which stole over $260 million (£194 million) from October 2023 to May 2025.
According to prosecutors, the fraudsters used hacked databases to trick victims into believing they were cryptocurrency exchanges, leading to the transfer of cryptocurrency.
It is reported that gang members, mostly young people from the US, spent the stolen money on private jets, luxury cars, and lavish accessories that they distributed in clubs.
Additionally, in some cases, the gang organized home invasions to steal equipment containing keys to crypto wallets.
In the crypto community, the term “wrench attacks” has even emerged, as criminals threaten victims with wrenches.
In April last year in Spain, crypto miners attempted to force a couple to part with their cryptocurrency.
According to police, a man was shot in the leg, and he and his girlfriend were held captive for several hours while the criminals tried to access their wallets. Eventually, the woman was released, but the man was never found, and his body was later discovered in a forest.
In Spain, five people were arrested in connection with this case, and four others were charged in Denmark.
Similar incidents have also been recorded in France, including one where an attempted kidnapping was captured on video.
In Paris, a masked group attempted to kidnap the family of a cryptocurrency company executive.
In another case, in early 2025, David Balland, co-founder of the cryptocurrency security company Ledger, was kidnapped along with his wife from their home in France.
Several days later, they were freed by the police, but during the kidnapping, Balland had a finger cut off.
Last month, British police arrested six people after masked criminals stopped a car traveling between Oxford and London and forced one of the passengers to transfer £1.5 million in cryptocurrency.
Phil Ariss, director of public sector relations at TRM Labs, which analyzes blockchain technology, previously stated that criminal gangs accustomed to violence will always be inclined to switch to cryptocurrencies.
“As long as there is an effective way to launder or cash out stolen assets, it doesn’t matter to criminals whether the target is expensive watches or a cryptocurrency wallet.”
“Cryptocurrency has firmly entered the mainstream, and with this, our traditional perception of physical threats and robbery must change.”
David Balland, co-founder of a cryptocurrency hardware development company, was rescued by the police.
It is difficult to accurately assess the scale of “wrench attacks,” as they are rarely reported. Nevertheless, these crimes constitute only a small part of the growing problem of personal cryptocurrency theft.
Many criminals use established and reliable methods of hacking or fraud that are becoming increasingly easier due to the abundance of data obtained during large-scale cyberattacks on companies.
“The Number of Bitcoin Millionaires is Growing”
“The problem of data leaks is widespread, as the number of bitcoin millionaires grows, and new stolen databases are constantly emerging,” says Matthew Jones, founder of the cryptocurrency security company Haven.
One of the hackers interviewed by BBC journalists cited the data leak at Kering, the parent company of brands like Gucci and Balenciaga, as an example.
In addition to millions of names and contact information of customers, the lost databases contain information about amounts spent in stores.
The hacker claims to have paid $300,000 (£224,000) for spreadsheets to target the largest clients.
He stated that he used this information, along with data from another stolen database, to fraudulently extract at least $1.5 million (£1.1 million) in cryptocurrency from several Coinbase users.
Kering, which owns luxury brands like Gucci and Balenciaga, recently faced a data leak affecting customer information.
The hacker confirmed his words by showing the BBC that he owns $700,000 (£522,000) in bitcoins, which he claims to have received from one of the victims.
“I buy hacked databases and match them with others to look for wealthy people, as well as current phone numbers and email addresses. I still go through this list and quickly tripled my money,” he said.
The hacker refused to disclose his personal information, limiting himself to saying that he is a student at an American university.
When asked whether he considers himself a hacker or a fraudster, he replied, “Neither, I’m only interested in making money.”
Kering did not comment on this matter but previously informed the BBC that its IT systems were secured after the data leak and that no bank account numbers, credit card information, or government identification numbers were stolen as a result of the attack.
