According to an alert posted on X, an Ethereum holder is allegedly being targeted in a kidnapping plot in France. The crypto community is being asked to warn them privately. The threat has not been independently confirmed.
An alert posted on X
An Ethereum holder is allegedly being targeted in a kidnapping plot in France, according to an alert posted on X by entrepreneur Benjamin Cohen. He says he has serious information, but does not know the person’s identity or city. The alleged threat could not be independently confirmed.
In his post, published this Saturday, he describes an attack planned within the next few hours and identifies the owner of a wallet associated with an Ethereum Name Service (ENS) name. The service lets users match a readable pseudonym to an address on the blockchain.
🚨 URGENT: kidnapping threat in France, need the French crypto community
I’ve received serious information: people are planning to kidnap the owner of the Ethereum wallet wooooooow.eth in the next few hours
0x5231E31C3ca39DD94fF56beCB662Ea50bC4Da7D1We don’t know their…
- Ben 🍀 (@IAmBenCohen) November 14, 2026
Benjamin Cohen asks internet users who might recognize this pseudonym on Discord or in decentralized finance services to notify the person privately, without revealing their identity or location. He also says the authorities have been alerted and advises the person being targeted to go somewhere safe, not to open the door to strangers, and to call 17 or 112.
A threat that remains unconfirmed
The wallet identified is associated with the ENS name wooooooow.eth and the address 0x5231E31C3ca39DD94fF56beCB662Ea50bC4Da7D1. At this point, nothing confirms that its owner is actually under threat.
The author says the authorities are being alerted, but their intervention has not been confirmed. Internet users who recognize the pseudonym are invited to notify the person privately, without revealing their identity or location.
This alert comes amid crypto-related violence. In January 2025, David Balland, co-founder of Ledger, and his partner were kidnapped and later released. According to the Ministry of the Interior, 90 cases of kidnapping, extortion, threats, or robbery involving violence linked to cryptocurrency were recorded in France between January and mid-August.
A public address can increase its holder’s exposure
On Ethereum, transactions and assets associated with an address are public. They do not automatically reveal someone’s identity, but reusing a pseudonym on social media can make it easier to link information.
An ENS name displayed on a profile can therefore link financial activity to personal posts. Information about someone’s profession, travel, or habits can then make the holder more exposed.
Not displaying your assets and avoiding links between your identity and your wallets can help limit these risks. Transferring funds to a new address is not necessarily enough, because a direct transfer remains visible on the blockchain.
Finally, a hardware wallet protects against certain cyberattacks, but does not prevent a physical assault. In the event of an immediate threat, the priority is still to get to a safe place and call 17 or 112.
