Crimestoppers, the UK’s independent crime-reporting charity, is offering a reward of up to £10,000 for information about a violent home invasion in Smith’s Wood, Solihull, on the edge of Birmingham, in which a couple were forced to transfer a substantial amount of cryptocurrency. Police believe the Dec. 13, 2025 attack may have been “planned and targeted.”
- Crimestoppers issues a £10,000 reward following a targeted home invasion where armed intruders forced a Birmingham couple to transfer cryptocurrency.
- Three assailants coordinated with a fourth remote accomplice via live video to extract digital assets and luxury timepieces.
- West Midlands Police investigate how offline home addresses are being compromised to execute violent physical extortions of private crypto holders.
The couple were opening their front door at about 5:20 p.m. on Saturday when three masked men got out of a parked car nearby and forced their way inside. The woman was pregnant with the couple’s third child and was threatened with a knife. Her husband suffered significant injuries during the assault.
The men demanded that the couple transfer cryptocurrency to a wallet belonging to the offenders, according to the BBC, before leaving with the funds and a number of high-value watches. A fourth person was allegedly involved remotely, relaying instructions to the men over a video call.
The Attack
The cryptocurrency was demanded during the robbery, while the watches were also taken from the home. Police have not publicly disclosed the amount transferred or the cryptocurrency involved, and have not said how the attackers knew the couple had access to digital assets.
The suspects were wearing face coverings and hoods. They are believed to have been in their 20s. One was described as a Black man with a small diagonal scar beneath his left eyebrow.
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→ Submit a Press ReleaseThe group is believed to have left in a black BMW X3 after the attack. Crimestoppers is asking anyone who remembers seeing such a vehicle in the area that Saturday, or who learned anything about the robbery afterward, to come forward.
West Midlands Police say detectives believe the circumstances indicate the attack may have been planned and targeted. The men arriving in a parked vehicle, forcing their way through the door as it opened and receiving instructions from another person over a video call are among the details released about the operation.
Police have not said how the couple was chosen as the target.
The £10,000 Appeal
Crimestoppers announced the reward on Sept. 24, 2026, more than nine months after the attack. The charity is seeking information given exclusively to Crimestoppers that leads to an arrest and conviction. Tipsters can remain anonymous and do not have to give their name, make a statement or appear in court.
Information can be submitted through Crimestoppers’ anonymous reporting service at 0800 555 111. Anyone providing information can request a reward code, with the payment dependent on the information directly leading to an arrest and conviction.
Crimestoppers’ West Midlands regional manager Alan Edwards appealed to anyone who may have been told something about the robbery afterward, noticed someone suddenly “flush with money” or remembers the distinctive scar described by investigators.
Edwards also urged people to think about whether the scar or the sight of the black BMW X3 that Saturday might now bring a face or detail to mind.
“This was a young family, at home, weeks away from welcoming a new baby,” Edwards said. “What was done to them is hard to take in, and the effects are still being felt every single day.”
Police have not publicly explained how this couple became the target of the attack.
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