Fake Uber drugs US tourist, steals $123K in crypto

British police are investigating a case in which Jacob Irwin-Cline, an American tourist, says a fraudulent Uber driver in London drugged and abducted him and stole $123,000 worth of his bitcoin and XRP, highlighting a surge in crimes against wealthy crypto owners.

While on a short layover in the UK, the former Portland-based software engineer, aged 30, says someone called out the nickname associated with his rideshare app outside a Soho bar and misled him into a fake Uber, MyLondon reported.

The driver claimed to be Mohammed and looked like the photo on the app, but Irwin-Cline told MyLondon he didn’t have time to cross-check the license plate or car model with the app’s listing.

Irwin-Cline says the driver may have drugged him with scopolamine, a strong and rarely used sedative often referred to as “Devil’s Breath,” after handing him a cigarette that triggered memory gaps and compliance.

While slipping in and out of consciousness, he says he unknowingly handed over his phone and app credentials. Later, he woke up injured in a London neighborhood after a car hit him and left him without his phone just after midnight on May 9.

Irwin-Cline returned to his hostel only to discover that someone had remotely accessed and cleared his laptop, emptying his crypto wallets.

Irwin-Cline allegedly presented MyLondon with evidence showing that on the night of the incident, his XRP wallet dropped from $73,000 to below $1,000, his Bitcoin balance plunged from $50,000 to under $10, and he lost smaller amounts in various other cryptocurrencies.

He identified MEXC and BTSE as destinations for some of the stolen crypto, but Irwin-Cline said that without proper recovery tools or insurance, he estimates his chances of getting any of it back at “less than 1%.”

Cline’s experience is one of many recent cases where criminals stole crypto, reported over the past few weeks.

In Paris last week, armed assailants tried to abduct the daughter and grandson of Pierre Noizat, who co-founded and leads the crypto exchange Paymium.

Surveillance recordings show three masked persons leaving a van and trying to forcibly kidnap Noizat’s daughter and her child.

During the confrontation, the woman’s partner intervened to prevent the attack and was reportedly injured.

High-profile investors and industry experts express growing concern over the recent spike in crypto thefts and criminal behavior affecting the digital asset space.

Over the past few months, criminals have increased incidents ranging from elaborate scams to physical kidnappings, reflecting growing worries about the vulnerabilities of those with significant crypto assets or public profiles.