Bitcoin, XRP worth $123K stolen from US tourist in London fake Uber scam

A US tourist reportedly claimed that he was drugged, duped by a fake Uber, and lost over $123,000 in crypto (BTC, XRP and more) during a London layover. What happened to Jacob Irwin-Cline sounds like a Black Mirror meets Web3 episode.

The 30-year-old ex-software dev from Portland built a small fortune investing in Bitcoin as a teenager. On a short layover in London before visiting his parents in Spain, he went out for drinks in The Roxy nightclub in Soho. He called an Uber around 1:30 AM on May 9 to return to his hostel.

Outside, a driver flagged him down, knowing his name, and matched the photo shown in the app. So he got in, but the car didn’t match the app, which was supposed to be the first red flag.

Fake Uber driver drains tourist’s crypto wallets

As per a report, the driver offered him a cigarette. At first, Jacob said no, but relented, “Sure, if you want to bond over a cigarette.” It is believed that the cigarette was laced with scopolamine, a drug so dangerous that even Vice once called it “the world’s scariest.”

Jacob started fading in and out, and the driver asked for his phone “for directions.” He got confused and gave it along with the passcodes. He vaguely recalls the driver scrolling through apps. By the time he realized what was happening, it was already too late.

The driver accessed his crypto apps, including Revolut and reportedly drained everything. He woke up in a random London suburb where a stranger called him a cab back to his hostel. He finally grabbed his laptop to find out that it had been remotely wiped. Jacob said, “They took the majority of my wealth,” and believes there’s “less than a 1% chance” of recovery.

Authorities confirmed the attacker accessed his wallets through Revolut, using a forced login. Jacob’s losses included $72,000 in XRP, around $50,000 in Bitcoin, and a handful of smaller altcoin positions. Altogether, $123,000 vanished, his life savings, built from teenage Bitcoin investments, drained in minutes.

London crypto heist

The attack fits the definition of a “wrench attack,” where no hacking is needed. Just physical coercion, social engineering, and in this case, a sedative. Jacob doesn’t believe he was targeted for his wealth. He thinks the thief got lucky.

Jacob says he has a good idea where the stolen crypto ended up—but without insurance, and with most of it in cold wallets, recovery is “virtually impossible.” He’s now working with the FBI’s Virtual Assets Unit. Jacob is an early crypto investor.

“I was investing in crypto before anyone. I was really into it in high school before Bitcoin was $1,000,” he added.

As of now, Bitcoin is trading at an average price of $106,576 with a trading volume of $54 billion. BTC knocked off its all-time high (ATH) of above $109K on January 20, 2025. It holds a market cap of around $2.11 trillion.

On the other hand, XRP price has seen its biggest rally after Ripple bagged a partial win in the legal battle against the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). XRP is trading at an average price of $2.34 as of press time.

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