--- title: "Robbers Tortured a Man With a Drill to Steal His Cryptocurrency" description: "Home invaders tortured a crypto trader with an electric drill in an attempt to force him to give up his cryptocurrency, according to a Dutch newspaper." date: "2019-03-08" modified: "2019-03-08" authors: - name: "Jon Christian" job_title: "Executive Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jonc" url: "https://futurism.com/robbers-tortured-man-drill-steal-cryptocurrency" categories: - "Bitcoin" - "Blockchain" - "Cryptocurrency" - "Future Society" tags: - "bitcoin" - "crime" - "cryptocurrency" --- # Robbers Tortured a Man With a Drill to Steal His Cryptocurrency ![Home invaders tortured a crypto trader with an electric to force him to give up his cryptocurrency, according to a Dutch newspaper.]() *\Image: Victor Tangermann\* ## Crypto Crime A key promise of the digital cash known as cryptocurrency is its security — because only you possess the password to access your money, it's presumably more safe than it would be at a bank. But a grisly crime in the Netherlands — in which home invaders tortured a crypto trader in an attempt to force him to give up his coins — shows that there's also a dark side to having total control over your own wealth. ## Robber Squad According to the Dutch newspaper *De Telegraaf*, a trio of robbers disguised as police [burst into the home]() of an unidentified cryptocurrency trader in late February. Then, in view of the man's four-year-old daughter, they tortured the crypto trader with an electric drill — causing injuries so severe that he was hospitalized for five days, according to a [follow-up story](). It's not clear whether they obtained any of the crypto trader's funds before leaving, but if he did turn over his password, the criminals could have transferred the money to an anonymous account almost instantly. ## Followup Dutch police were horrified by the crime, according to *De Telegraaf,* and dispatched 15 officers to investigate. The cops refused to comment, but police sources confirmed to the newspaper that the criminals were after the man's cryptocurrency holdings. Crypto news site *CoinTelegraph* [pointed out]() that there have been other examples of violent criminals attempting to steal cryptocurrency, such as a Russian businessman who was [held hostage]() until he surrendered his Bitcoin funds. "If you are rich and you own real estate, or stocks or a sports team, somebody can’t mug you and take your sports team away," Bitcoin engineer Jameson Lopp told *The New York Times* in 2018. "Having liquid crypto assets makes you much more attractive for that type of criminal attack." **READ MORE:** [Bitcoin Trader Brutally Tortured With Drill in Cryptocurrency Robbery]() \[*The Independent*\] **More on cryptocurrency:** *[Did a Crypto CEO Fake His Own Death to Abscond With $190 Million?]()* ## Author I'm responsible for editing, assigning, and scouting at Futurism, as well as occasionally writing for the site. That work involves keeping an eye on a wide range of narratives and issues, but over the past few years I've become increasingly interested in how AI is shaping the future of media, the web, and information itself. My day-to-day often involves collaborating on reporting and commentary projects bylined by my colleagues, but I try to find time to do my own reporting as well; stories I've broken for Futurism have been cited by publications including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New Yorker, Wired, Ars Technica, New York Magazine, the Columbia Journalism Review, Bloomberg, and more. I grew up in Southern Vermont and attended Vanderbilt University. Prior to Futurism, I contributed to outlets including the Boston Globe, Vice, Wired, Slate, the Atlantic, the Outline, Ars Technica and more, and did stints in farming and food service. I currently live in Brooklyn, New York, and in my free time I enjoy pinball, word games, cycling, running, and music production. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()