Police Warn of £2.1m Bitcoin Scam Involving Fake UK Officer
North Wales Police alerts crypto holders after a victim lost £2.1 million to a sophisticated scam using a counterfeit breach warning and fake site.
North Wales Police has warned cryptocurrency users after a victim lost £2.1 million in Bitcoin to an advanced scam.
An individual impersonating a senior UK police officer used a false breach alert to lure the victim into entering their wallet password on a counterfeit site.
The force described the incident as a “disturbing new trend,” noting that scammers deploy ever-more sophisticated social engineering tactics to deceive even cautious investors.
How the scam worked
Investigators believe the target was identified through a prior data breach, enabling a highly personalized attack.
The fraudster claimed that a suspect had been arrested with the victim’s ID documents on their phone. Playing on fear and urgency, they instructed the victim to secure their assets by logging in via a provided link.
Once the victim entered their password, the criminals recreated the wallet and drained £2.1 million in a matter of minutes.
Police advice
- Police will never call unexpectedly about your crypto or ask you to access your cold wallet via phone.
- If in doubt, hang up and dial 101 to verify the call.
- Only enter your password directly on your cold storage device during setup or recovery.
- No legitimate entity, including police, will ever request your seed phrase.
Scammers are refining their methods, targeting holders through tailored social engineering aimed at exploiting fear and urgency.
This topic was reported by BBC.
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