A cryptocurrency entrepreneur was allegedly kidnapped in Paris on Wednesday February 11, say Internet users who share several videos of the alleged kidnapping. The kidnapping was actually staged by a YouTuber.
Published on: 02/12/2026 - 6:59 p.m. Modified on: 02/16/2026 - 5:04 p.m.
"Let me go! Let me go!" Since Wednesday evening, the video of an alleged spectacular kidnapping has been making the rounds on social networks. The sequence has been viewed more than two million times on a single post on The victim appears to be taken by force by two masked men into the trunk of a gray car.
This video of an alleged kidnapping is broadcast while the cryptocurrency world is currently the subject of a wave of kidnappings and rackets.
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A staging by a YouTuber
But this kidnapping is staged. On social networks, several people began to doubt its veracity. The kidnappers do not seem very professional: they do not wear gloves and use a vehicle which, according to Internet users, would not really be suitable for a kidnapping, "a Clio diesel". The sequence was also filmed from two other different angles, which reinforces suspicions.
More objective elements make it possible to confirm that this kidnapping is indeed fake. We thus see a man filming the alleged kidnapping using what appears to be a camera or a professional camera at the thirteenth second of another video of the scene, which we find by a reverse image search (see here how to proceed).
Contacted by BFM, a police source confirms that the video is “filmed as part of a video dedicated to the social networks of a YouTuber”.
The search for buzz by staging a kidnapping
Staging a kidnapping seems to have become a way for certain influencers to gain visibility. At the end of January, in a video viewed more than 5.9 million times, Cyril Schreiner, a French influencer, announced the kidnapping of his dog Albert from his home. Many Internet users then mobilized to help him, going so far as to send him donations. The influencer has since admitted to having simulated the kidnapping of his dog and is the subject of a complaint from an animal protection association for “deceptive commercial practice” and “profitable misappropriation of the animal cause”.
The video of the false kidnapping of an entrepreneur in the field of cryptocurrency is taken up by Facebook pages which seem to make money by publishing sensationalist content. The sequence was also relayed by accounts of Chinese and American influencers, who also seem to distribute viral content to gain visibility and take the opportunity to criticize Europe and France.
However, kidnappings linked to cryptocurrency are increasing in France. The last one dates from February 6, the day when a magistrate, whose partner works in the sector, and her mother, were found after having been kidnapped and injured. In May 2025, the video of a failed kidnapping in Paris also circulated widely.
[Updated 02/16/2026]: Following our requests, the Paris police headquarters returned to the circumstances of the alleged kidnapping of a cryptocurrency entrepreneur. The police headquarters confirms that its personnel were mobilized after the report of the kidnapping of a person in a vehicle. She deplores “stages which generate fear among witnesses and local residents and among users of social networks and which unduly mobilize the police”. The police headquarters also reminds that filming on public roads must be declared in advance to the City of Paris.
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