French authorities have opened an investigation after a data breach hit Waltio, a platform that helps users calculate cryptocurrency taxes.
The incident may have exposed the personal information of thousands of people.
A notice from France’s cybersecurity agency said the Paris Public Prosecutor’s Office and the National Cyber Unit are working together to understand what data was taken and which users were affected.
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Officials warned that scammers might use the stolen information to trick victims into transferring their crypto under the pretext of “security checks.”
According to a January 23 report from Le Parisien, the hacker group known as Shiny Hunters demanded a ransom from Waltio after the breach. The group reportedly accessed data from around 50,000 users, most of them based in France.
Authorities also cautioned that criminals often use stolen identity data to commit in-person crimes. They warned that some victims could face threats such as kidnapping or physical harm if attackers attempt to force access to their crypto assets.
This kind of crime is sometimes called a “wrench attack”. It refers to cases where criminals use direct force to make someone transfer digital funds.
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