A London court convicted four people in the failed lure and wrench attack of a Belgian barber. The group invites him to London with luxuries and a relationship promises after revealing he is sitting on Bitcoin fortune.
But to his surprise, when his attacker demanded that he give him access to his funds, the victim revealed that he had only $9 (£6.71) in his crypto wallet. Surprisingly, the temptist lowered demand to $67,000 (about £50,000) and eventually settled down at $2,700 (or £2,000) from his bank account.
Victim Quentin Sepeljack was accused of in May 2023 after he was attacked, held overnight and later released after the prisoners learned they had no important codeholders. The era.
One of the attackers, Davina Raaymakers, became friends with Cepeljac on social media a few weeks ago. After claiming he was a successful crypto dealer, she invited him to London and offered him what she described as a gorgeous flat.
Instead, she led him to bedsit of the shepherd’s bush. There, three men were already waiting, including her boyfriend. They then ambushed Sepeljack, grabbing a machete around his neck and a knife in his legs, demanding access to his crypto wallet.
After they realized he had no significant crypto holdings, they let him go, seeking cash from his bank account.
The paper reported that all four defendants had admitted to the horrifying mail and identified the Isleworth Crown as the venue. Court records remain unavailable, but the paper shows police encountered Sepeljac in St. Pancras and used phone and airbnb data to identify the suspect.
Decryption We have submitted a FOI request to confirm fees, pleas and sentencing details.
Cryptocurrency and wrench attacks
This case has become part of a broader trend known as “wrench attacks.” There, the perceived cryptography holder is forced through physical force. These attacks bypass digital security and target people directly.
In a similar case, a French crypto influencer was lured and detained for ransom. The gang tracked him down based on social media posts and believed in his supposed wealth.
“Crypto’s Flex Culture is dangerous. Cripto’s targeting criminals just like they would post Instagram stories showing gorgeous watches in the pool,” said Eyal Gruper, founder and CEO of the self-responsible Bitcoin Recovery Platform. Decryption.
Flex culture, derived from the slang term “flexion,” often refers to the act of flaunting wealth, status, or possessions in order to impress others.
“Opportunists who follow industry insider feeds, monitor meeting hashtags and find out who are worth enforcing are hiding in the same channels you use,” Grouper said.
At Crypto, this includes explosive wallet balances, NFT purchases, profitable deals, or famous trips to industry events.
Still, some view them as focusing on Flex Culture.
“Flexculture is not specific to cryptographically, it’s in the industry as a whole,” said Callum Mitchell-Clark, co-founder of the tokenization basket management protocol Alvara. Decryption.
Mitchell Clark argues that Flexculture misses the point and misses the risk of distracting blame from the perpetrators.
“Criticizing violent crimes distracts attention from the real problem: criminals,” he said. “Violence is a choice, not a result of visibility. We should not excuse it by pointing our fingers at the victim.”
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