Warning: This story contains distressing details A businessman was beaten with hammers by masked men who broke into his home and threatened to kill his heavily pregnant wife unless he transferred hundreds of thousands of pounds of cryptocurrency. Speaking to the BBC, the couple, who want to remain anonymous, described the attack as "horrific" and said they feared for their unborn baby's life. The attackers left in a car driven by a getaway driver after the man transferred his crypto savings.
Crimestoppers are offering a £10,000 reward for information in the attack, which was captured on home security footage and is being investigated by the police. Experts say it is one of a growing type of violent theft known as a "wrench attack" targeting cryptocurrency investors. As crypto coins have risen in value, reports of these violent robberies linked to digital assets have emerged in the UK, France and the US.
Once funds are transferred, recovering them can be extremely difficult. The man, who the BBC is calling James, said three intruders forced their way into their Solihull home before launching an assault which lasted 45 minutes. "The door gets pushed open, I can see gloves coming in, balaclavas," he said.
James tried to fight the men off but they hit him in the face, head and ribs with hammers. His wife, who was seven months pregnant, was held down on the sofa by one of the criminals. "He's got a pillow over her face," James said.
"He's literally suffocating her on the sofa. I can hear her screaming, 'I can't breathe'." The couple still had no idea what the criminals wanted until one of the men demanded James unlock his phone and hand it over. James said the attackers appeared to know he owned cryptocurrency, but had little understanding of how to access it.
Instead, they were taking instructions from someone else connected via a live video call. "I can hear the guy on FaceTime saying: 'Show me everything on his phone. Show me what apps he's got'," he said.
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