France crypto robbers force family to transfer €40,000

Masked robbers broke into a family's home in northern France and forced them to transfer 40,000 euros, about $46,000, in cryptocurrency during an overnight ordeal, local prosecutor Etienne Thieffry said Sunday.

The couple and their two children, aged 8 and 12, were treated by paramedics for shock after the robbers left the home in Vendin-le-Vieil, a village on the outskirts of Lens.

Thieffry said police were hunting four people over the robbery. He said the father worked in the technology sector.

France has seen a wave of robberies targeting cryptocurrency owners in the past couple of years. In the first six months of this year, 77 such crimes were recorded, up from the same period last year.

Interior Minister Laurent Nunez vowed in June to increase security for people working in the crypto sector.