Key facts
- A couple was attacked in their West Midlands home on December 13, 2025.
- Attackers forced the couple to transfer cryptocurrency while a fourth person gave instructions via video call.
- The husband sustained significant injuries, and his pregnant wife was threatened with a knife.
- The attackers left with cryptocurrency and high-value watches in a black BMW X3.
- Crimestoppers is offering up to £10,000 for information leading to an arrest and conviction.
- Home invasions are the dominant form of crypto wrench attacks, according to CertiK.
UK police are seeking information about a violent crypto home invasion that occurred in the West Midlands on December 13, 2025. Three men forced their way into a couple's home, assaulting the husband and threatening the pregnant wife with a knife. The attackers coerced the couple into transferring a large sum of cryptocurrency while a fourth individual, believed to be in their twenties, relayed instructions over a video call. The assailants fled with the stolen funds and several high-value watches in a black BMW X3.
Crimestoppers, an independent charity, is offering a reward of up to £10,000 for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of those responsible. The appeal was made on Wednesday, more than nine months after the incident.
According to security firm CertiK, home invasions have become the dominant form of crypto wrench attacks, accounting for approximately 41% of all incidents in the first half of 2026, a significant increase from a year prior. CertiK verified 52 such attacks in total during that period, with a recorded exposure of $124.1 million. The firm also noted an increasingly layered structure in these attacks, with organizers coordinating logistics from a distance, aligning with the described role of the fourth participant in this incident. Europe accounted for three-quarters of the cases verified by CertiK, with France being the primary center for these attacks.