French Police Probe Waltio Data Breach as France Warns of Crypto Kidnappings

French authorities are investigating a data breach at crypto tax platform Waltio as the government warns that kidnappings targeting cryptocurrency holders were reported to law enforcement in January 2026.

The Paris Public Prosecutor’s cybercrime unit ordered a preliminary investigation into the breach, which has been assigned to France’s National Cyber Unit, according to a government cybersecurity alert.

Investigations remain ongoing to determine the precise nature of stolen data and identify affected users.

Waltio acknowledged the breach in a Security Notice published January 23, stating that exposed data is limited to user email addresses and summary information from 2024 tax reports.

The company said passwords and exchange account access were not compromised. Wallet addresses and banking data also remained secure.

Crypto tax platforms collect sensitive transaction data under international reporting requirements.

Government Warns of Physical Threats

French authorities issued specific warnings about criminals who pose as law enforcement officials to target breach victims.

The government alert cautioned that police will never call to request confidential data or appear unannounced at residences with claims that a user’s data was compromised.

Physical attacks on crypto holders have escalated in France. French media reported a retired couple was kidnapped in Sallanches on January 14, and an attempted kidnapping was foiled in Paris on January 23.

Hardware wallet maker Ledger, also based in France, reported a separate breach earlier in January 2026.

Company Response and Timeline

Waltio CEO Pierre Morizot said the company filed a criminal complaint for attempted extortion and unauthorized system access on January 23.

The company described the attack as particularly sophisticated and confirmed active cooperation with investigators.

Waltio also confirmed sending a notification to CNIL, France’s data protection authority.

The company advised users to verify the security code at the bottom of Waltio emails against codes displayed in their account profiles.

The breach timeline shows a gap between the data appearing for sale and Waltio’s awareness. Brinztech reported an alleged Waltio database appeared on a dark web marketplace on December 24, 2025.

Waltio stated it received the extortion attempt on January 21, 2026, nearly a month later. The company says it learned of the breach through the extortion attempt rather than dark web monitoring.

However, Brinztech’s report described the listing as containing names and phone numbers, data Waltio states the platform does not collect.

It remains unclear whether the database Brinztech identified in December is the same data referenced in the January extortion attempt against Waltio.

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