UK police offer £10K reward after crypto home invasion attack

A violent home invasion in the West Midlands that left a young father badly injured and his pregnant wife threatened at knifepoint has led UK authorities to offer a £10,000 reward for information. The attackers forced the couple to transfer a significant amount of crypto assets, in what police believe was a carefully planned and coordinated robbery.

Crimestoppers announced the reward on September 24, 2026, more than nine months after the attack took place in Smith’s Wood, Solihull, on December 13, 2025. The couple, who were expecting their third child at the time, were targeted as they returned home around 5:20 PM.

A robbery directed by video call

Three masked men, all believed to be in their twenties, forced their way into the couple’s home. The husband sustained significant injuries during the assault. His wife was threatened with a knife.

Under duress, the couple was coerced into transferring crypto holdings to accounts controlled by the attackers. High-value watches were also stolen from the property.

Police believe a fourth suspect was directing the three intruders in real time via a video call. The identities of the victims have not been disclosed. Investigators have released limited descriptions of the suspects, whose faces were concealed during the attack, making identification difficult. The £10,000 reward from Crimestoppers is designed to incentivize anyone with knowledge of the perpetrators to come forward.

The growing threat of wrench attacks

This incident fits into a category that crypto security researchers have been warning about: so-called “wrench attacks,” where criminals use physical force to compel someone to hand over their digital assets.

Unlike traditional bank robberies, where institutions absorb losses and accounts can be frozen, self-custodied crypto transfers are often irreversible. Once a victim sends assets to an attacker’s wallet under coercion, there’s no customer service line to call.

The UK has seen a troubling pattern of these attacks. In June 2024, a home invasion in London resulted in the theft of over $4.3 million in digital assets.

Why self-custody carries real-world risk

If assets are secured by a seed phrase or a hardware wallet, the holder becomes the single point of failure. A determined attacker doesn’t need to breach encryption — they just need to breach the front door.

Multisignature wallets, which require multiple parties to authorize a transaction, offer one layer of protection. If a victim can truthfully say they cannot unilaterally move funds, the incentive for a physical attack diminishes. Time-locked transactions delay transfers by a set period, potentially giving law enforcement a window to intervene.

The £10,000 Crimestoppers reward remains active. Anyone with information about the December 2025 Solihull attack can contact the organization anonymously.