Key Insights
- A U.S. tourist fell victim to a crypto scam in a fake Uber and lost $123,000.
- The scammer impersonated an Uber driver and reportedly used a scopolamine-laced cigarette to drug him.
- The thief gained access to the victim’s phone and other apps, draining his crypto wallet.
A quick trip to London turned into a nightmare for Jacob Irwin-Cline, a tourist from Portland, Oregon. Cline lost his life savings after being drugged in a fake Uber and getting robbed of $123,000 in crypto like Bitcoin, XRP, and other assets.
Moreover, this disturbing incident shows how dangerous it can become to be a crypto holder in many parts of the world. It also adds another statistic to the trend of so-called “wrench attacks” against individuals with digital assets.
Crypto Scam Setup Began Outside London Nightclub
Per reports, Irwin-Cline had a two-day layover in London and decided to spend his night at The Roxy, a popular nightclub in Soho.
After the club closed around 1:30 AM, he called for an Uber through the app. A vehicle arrived, and the driver called him by name, appearing to confirm the booking. Irwin-Cline entered the car.
However, CCTV later showed the vehicle was not the Uber listed in his app. Instead of a Toyota Prius, he entered a dark sedan. The man behind the wheel was a scammer who had somehow obtained his name and location.
The attacker likely monitored tourists using ride-hailing services near the venue and intercepted the victim before his real driver arrived.
Drugged and Robbed
Things quickly became ugly when the imposter offered Irwin-Cline a cigarette. Irwin-Cline noted that he was initially hesitant. However, he soon accepted because he “didn’t want to seem rude”. This cigarette, he believes, was laced with scopolamine.
For some context, scopolamine is a powerful sedative that is known to cause several symptoms, including memory loss, while keeping victims docile and semi-conscious.
Within minutes, Irwin-Cline began to feel drowsy and out of control. During this period, the attacker convinced him to unlock his phone and give access to his financial apps.
The thief later used the Revolut app to access his crypto wallet and then drained his holdings.
When Irwin-Cline regained his senses, he was in a strange part of the city.
He was disoriented and without his phone, eventually realizing that his entire crypto portfolio, worth more than $123,000, was gone. This portfolio included $72,000 in XRP, around $50,000 in Bitcoin, and smaller amounts in other coins.
Crypto Holders Increasingly Targeted by Physical Attacks
This wasn’t an isolated incident. A growing trend of physical threats against crypto users, often labeled as “wrench attacks,” is emerging across Europe and Asia.
Unlike digital-only scams, these involve real-world coercion. Criminals target known crypto holders and force them to surrender passwords or device access under threat or deception.
Similar attacks have been reported recently. In Thailand, a Ukrainian man lost $250,000 in USDT. In France, a crypto executive’s family faced an attempted kidnapping. These cases show that the rise in crypto adoption has created new high-value targets for criminals willing to act offline.
For now, Jacob Irwin-Cline’s experience serves as a warning: crypto scams no longer stay behind a screen. They increasingly exploit human behavior, real-world vulnerabilities, and the irreversible nature of blockchain transactions.
