The physical threat to crypto wealth

Your wallet is encrypted.
Your home address isn't.

Wrench attacks are kidnappings, home invasions and violent coercion to force a crypto transfer, and they are surging worldwide. Attackers don't need to crack your keys. They need to find you. Biscayne Secure's Digital Executive Protection removes the trail that leads them to your door.

Former national security professionals Discreet, confidential engagement Protecting clients since 2020
Interactive threat map

Every dot is a real person who was found, followed and forced.

Explore 380+ publicly reported wrench attacks across 55+ countries. Search by name or place, filter by year, country, victim type or how the victim was found, switch to a heatmap, or press play to watch the threat spread year by year. Click any marker for the details and the original source.

Filters

Year range
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Incidents
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Countries

Incidents per year (click a bar)

Top countries

    How victims were found (exposure vector, where reported · click to filter)

      —

      change in reported incidents in — compared with the year before, in this dataset.

      —

      incidents where the victims were family or household members (spouses, parents, children, couples), based on the victim field.

      Derived grouping. See README.
      41

      crypto-linked kidnappings or sequestrations recorded in France between 1 January and late May 2026. Police count 135 since 2023.

      Source: French judicial police figures via Le JDD

      This dataset of — publicly reported physical attacks involving cryptocurrency combines incidents from Jameson Lopp’s Known Physical Bitcoin Attacks list with incidents Biscayne Secure found independently in news reports, court records, police and prosecutor releases, other trackers and its own records, across many languages. Updated weekly. Inclusion does not mean every case is confirmed or resolved.

      Methodology

      Each incident has its own case study with source links. Where reporting doesn't say how the victim was found, the exposure category is “Unknown” and is excluded from percentages. Locations are geocoded from city/region/country with OpenStreetMap Nominatim; amber markers are approximate (region or country level). Victim type is a simple grouping derived from the victim field.

      Case studies

      From exposure to incident, and the protection that closes the gap.

      Each case is tagged with the exposure category that made the target findable. We map that category to the specific Biscayne protection built to remove it.

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      How attackers find you

      Attackers start with open-source intelligence.
      They search before they show up.

      Every post, panel and podcast leaks data about your personal life. Here are the eight sources criminals use to identify and locate crypto holders. Select one to see what they find, how it's used, and how we close it.

      How we make you a hard target

      Exposed vs. protected. Flip each card.

      Digital Executive Protection pairs exposure reduction (data broker removals, account and device hardening) with continuous monitoring and a rapid-response path. Every card maps a real-world exposure to the Biscayne service that removes it.

      Monitoring can't guarantee prevention. It shortens detection time and, paired with exposure reduction, materially lowers the odds that an attack succeeds. Structuring guidance (LLC or trust) is coordinated with your own legal counsel.

      How Biscayne protects you

      Identify. Defend. Respond.

      01

      Identify exposed data

      • Dark web leaks
      • Vulnerable online accounts
      • Problematic posts
      • Public records audits
      Outcome: a baseline assessment of your risk profile and actionable recommendations.
      02

      Defend and monitor

      • Breach data leak alerts
      • Online threat monitoring
      • Privacy and reputation scans
      Outcome: problems don't become headlines.
      03

      Rapid response

      • Consultation during crisis
      • Investigation of bad actors
      • Engagement with law enforcement
      Outcome: a team of former national security professionals working on your behalf.
      Exposure self-assessment

      How easy are you to find?

      12 questions, about 2 minutes. Your score is weighted by how real attackers found their victims in our incident data, with the statistics and the fix for each risk factor.

      Endorsed by visionary leaders

      Discretion is the product.

      Biscayne provides discreet digital protection to high-risk leaders, including crypto and financial executives, athletes, celebrities and family offices.

      See more client results and case studies ↗

      FAQ

      Questions crypto clients ask us

      What is a wrench attack?
      It's a physical attack on a crypto holder, or on their family, to force a transfer or get access to keys. The name comes from the idea that a $5 wrench defeats strong encryption. These attacks include kidnappings, home invasions posing as deliveries or police, staged "OTC trade" meetings, and extortion.
      What is Digital Executive Protection?
      It's a structured program that reduces your online exposure, hardens your critical accounts and monitors for emerging threats. It combines personal data removal (data brokers, people-finder sites, public databases), account security, device security and 24/7 threat monitoring across the dark web and social media, with an incident response path when something happens.
      Can you stop SIM swaps and protect my phone?
      Yes. Our Encrypted Mobile Devices with Threat Detection and SIM Swap Protection offering combines an encrypted phone hardened against interception, on-device threat detection that flags malicious apps, rogue networks and spyware, and carrier-level SIM swap protection that blocks unauthorized SIM changes and number ports. That stops attackers from hijacking your SMS codes or account recovery, or using your number to locate and target you. We also move your critical accounts to app or hardware MFA. No phone is immune to every attack, so this is one layer of a broader protection plan.
      How quickly can you reduce my exposure?
      Most clients see meaningful reductions in publicly searchable data within 30 to 45 days. Results vary by site policy, jurisdiction and how widely the data was indexed. Broker datasets refresh, so lasting reduction needs ongoing maintenance.
      Will my family be protected too?
      Yes. Family members and household staff are often the easier path to a principal. We extend the program to spouses, children and key staff when appropriate, through our VIP Family Risk Protection service.
      Do I need to tell you what I hold or share wallet details?
      No. Our work focuses on your identity and exposure: what an attacker can find about you, your home and your family, and whether your identity is publicly linked to wallets. We never need your keys or seed phrases. Never share them with anyone.
      I'm an influencer. Do I have to stop posting?
      No. The goal is to keep your audience and drop the location data. We audit what your content reveals (geotags, home interiors, routines, real-time travel) and give you a posting playbook so you can stay visible without being reachable.
      Can monitoring prevent an attack outright?
      No one can guarantee that. Monitoring shortens detection time, narrows blind spots and gives you a chance to act before exposure escalates. Combined with exposure reduction, it materially lowers the probability of a successful attack. Retainer clients also get priority crisis response.
      Is this confidential?
      Yes. All work is fully discreet. Your board, employees and clients won't know unless you choose to tell them. Sensitive findings are delivered only through secure channels.
      Privacy is a strategic investment

      Don't wait to be the next dot on the map.

      Schedule a confidential consultation with a former national security professional. We'll show you what an attacker can find about you, and how fast we can make it disappear.

      Get protected