In brief
- A U.S. tourist lost more than $123,000 in cryptocurrency after being drugged and abducted by a fake Uber driver in London’s West End.
- The attacker reportedly gained access to the victim’s digital wallet after obtaining his phone passcode.
- Police are investigating the incident amid a rise in physical attacks targeting crypto holders across Europe.
A U.S. tourist has lost more than $123,000 in crypto after being targeted in a suspected premeditated theft in London’s West End following a night out and a short stay in the city.
Jacob Irwin-Cline from Portland, Oregon, was on a two-day layover when he called an Uber after leaving The Roxy, a nightclub in Soho, around 1:30 AM on May 9.
Police reports indicate a driver who knew his name from the app intercepted him, according to an initial report from local media outlet MyLondon.
CCTV footage from the nightclub later requested by Irwin-Cline revealed that he entered a dark sedan rather than the Toyota Prius displayed on his Uber app.
“The guy seemed super chill, super nice,” Irwin-Cline recounted.
The driver then offered him a cigarette, believed to contain scopolamine, a sedative causing blackouts while keeping victims conscious and suggestible.
“I said I stopped smoking, but he said, ‘Oh, c’mon. I said, ‘Sure, if you want to bond over a cigarette, ‘” Irwin-Cline reportedly said.
While under the influence, Irwin-Cline unwittingly provided his phone’s passcode and access to his crypto accounts before he was abandoned in an unfamiliar area of London.
Authorities later confirmed the attackers accessed his wallet directly after a forced login of his Revolut account.
The London incident marks the latest instance across Europe involving a “wrench attack,” a term used to refer to physical threats forcing victims to surrender their crypto.
Irwin-Cline estimates his total crypto losses at $123,000, including $72,000 in XRP tokens, approximately $50,000 in Bitcoin, and several smaller coin positions were drained.
He also said he doesn’t believe he was targeted and that instead the attacker got “lucky” that he had a “bit of wealth stored away.”
An investigation is ongoing, and no arrests have yet been made. Decrypt reached out to relevant authorities for comment.
Edited by Sebastian Sinclair
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