With the explosion in the consumption of videos on the internet, on Youtube, Twitch, Tiktok and Instagram, some influencers earn small fortunes which arouse desire.
They are the stars of the internet. In less than ten years, influencers have become numerous and some have well over a million subscribers, whether on Youtube, Twitch, but also Tiktok and Instagram.
Fame – and for some money – mean that these personalities are now scrutinized in their actions, sometimes to the point of abuse, and also become victims of threats.
On January 2, 2025, the Bourg-en-Bresse public prosecutor's office opened an investigation into the kidnapping of the father of an influencer based in Dubai and specializing in cryptocurrencies. A ransom demand had been sent to the latter.
“We make burglars want to”
This affair, which did not end dramatically, is just one of dozens in recent months. In November 2023, YouTuber Teufeurs was also the victim of an extortion attempt, again targeting his father. The latter was kidnapped and then released after the arrest of eight people in the Paris region.
In November 2024, it was YouTuber Inoxtag who revealed that he had been the victim of two burglaries a few months apart, one of which was in his parents' former home. Inoxtag and his relatives were then taken “to a safe place” after being interviewed by the police.
Another threat weighing on influencers: homejacking. These operations consist of breaking into a person's house while they are there (alone or with their loved ones). This is followed by kidnapping and theft of money or precious objects. In February 2024, YouTuber Just Riadh was the victim, with several tens of thousands of euros stolen.
For influencer Zinedine Bouzorene, interviewed by BFMTV, also the victim of a burglary, it is the consequence of social networks: “I think we make these burglars want to come, because when we make videos, we can see objects that are placed here and there, but without doing it on purpose because we have to work well.”
In fact, to increase interactions and engagement, some personalities do not hesitate to reveal their entire life on Snapchat or Instagram. Others, on the other hand, have specific techniques: “I only show my professional life, and if I have to show something more 'intimate', I check the photo or video twenty times before posting it, and often , I wait a few hours before posting so that no one knows where I am at any given moment,” says an influencer who prefers to remain anonymous.
Speaking to Tech&Co, two influencers with more than a million subscribers on Youtube explain that they shoot in a studio in order to minimize risks: “When I became very well known, when people recognized me in the street, I I decided to shoot in the studio because I didn't want to find people outside my house or risk anything” explains one of them.
But this situation is not possible among all influencers: “In fact, the principle of influence, even more on Twitch or Instagram, is to be close to our community. But some of our subscribers do not reach not to separate things and think that we are their friend It can create conflicting situations and potential problems later,” regrets a streamer.
Women particularly targeted
On Youtube or Twitch, women are also targeted, notably by “stalkers”, people who follow them, with the aim of meeting them or sometimes harming them. A situation experienced by streamer Kyria, who reported a sordid story in October 2024, in the middle of Paris Games Week.
Followed by a man for several weeks, the influencer with 76,000 subscribers on Twitch says that he followed her to the station where she had to take a train to return home: “I have never been so afraid of “My life, I've seen and experienced things, but it's never been this far,” she tells X.
She explains that it was a viewer of her channel who sent her “weird things” systematically commenting on her publications on Instagram. Despite regular blockages, he managed to come back and find out where the young woman was going.
Kyria is not the only one to have suffered such an ordeal, this is the case of other web personalities like JadeyAnh, Pokimane and Amouranth. The streaming platform Twitch has since been regularly singled out for not doing enough against those who threaten and follow live streamers. Twitch had nevertheless tried to curb the situation by trying to mark users who had simply created a new account after the previous one had been banned: “But people who want to harm influencers on Twitch also know the flaws in the system and often use different IP addresses,” a source at Twitch France explains to Tech&Co, on condition of anonymity.
On Instagram too, such tools are in place, but without this having any real impact: “In the long term, I am always harassed by the same people,” confides an influencer to Tech&Co, “even if I I enabled bans on multiple accounts, it just doesn't work.”
“It’s up to influencers to take responsibility”
At Webedia, where many Tiktok, Youtube and Twitch influencers come, children gather in front of the premises located in Levallois-Perret: “Every Wednesday, there are parents who leave their children in front of the building,” underlines an employee , “there are dozens of them each time who hope to see Inoxtag or Michou, it’s hell.”
“Once, a father got angry with a receptionist because she didn’t want to go upstairs to find an influencer,” he says.
The situation can even degenerate. According to information from Tech&Co, intrusions were reported in the building, when two young Inoxtag subscribers managed to infiltrate the floors through the parking lots in 2023. Security has since been reinforced.
For trade shows and events, things are different, but do not prevent abuses: “We offer influencers people to accompany them or follow them while they wander through the aisles,” explains this security manager for a large Parisian salon, “we nevertheless see behavior that can be violent.”
“What happened with Kyria, it’s really an extreme situation, we are vigilant,” he confides, “but we can’t be everywhere, and it’s also up to influencers to take responsibility by not not showing their whole life on social media.”
