UK police are investigating an elaborate cryptocurrency scam in which a fraudster impersonated a ranked police officer and stole £2.1 million ($2.8 million) worth of Bitcoin.
The North Wales Police Cyber Crime Team reported that the victim of the incident was led into an online investment scheme, and that the fraudster led them to believe they were in danger because the fraudster claimed to have arrested someone with their identification documents.
By evoking fear and urgency in the victim, the fraudster used a malicious link to convince the victim to access their cold storage wallet.
Once they had the login credentials, the fraudster had complete access to the wallet and could withdraw the bitcoin.
Officials are saying that this case shows a disturbing trend where sophisticated, determined operations are targeting long-term holders storing coins in cold storage.
Targeted Data Breaches and Cybercrime
Police officials believe the victim was likely identified by a prior data breach, meaning the attack was targeted and perhaps not random.
Notably, if one’s personal information is exposed to these scammers, their impersonation of whoever’s details they have is more believable, leaving victims with fewer reasons not to believe them.
North Wales Police state that this tactic demonstrates a larger increase in cybercriminals using data leaks to identify major crypto investors.
North Wales Police stated that these schemes differ from “traditional scams” in that they require a higher level of exact social engineering and technical execution, and not new mass phishing attempts.
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Police Issue Warning for Anyone in the UK with Cryptocurrency
In light of this incident, North Wales Police made an unequivocal warning to cryptocurrency holders throughout the United Kingdom.
They’ve stated that law enforcement will never call an individual out of the blue and ask about, or request any action regarding, a cryptocurrency asset or cold storage devices.
Specifically, the police will never ask for sensitive information such as the seed phrase necessary to access funds.
In the event of such a suspicious call, citizens are encouraged to hang up immediately and verify the call by using their local police agency’s number directly to see if there was a legitimate reason for the contact.
Officials indicated that one of the most crucial steps a person can take when receiving unsolicited communications, in this case via telephone, is to verify the request to avoid falling victim to scams that use trust and fear.
Growing Trend of Crypto-Related Fraud in the UK
The occurrence adds to the number of rising crypto scams in the UK. UnoCrypto news shared various updates.
Earlier this year, Kent Police reported that nine residents collectively lost £1 million ($1.3M) to a Bitcoin scam, in which scammers abused leaked data to create fake Action Fraud reports.
In July, the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Metropolitan Police shut down seven illegal crypto ATMs and arrested two suspects in London.
Operating crypto ATMs without FCA registration has been a criminal offence since January 2021, and authorities have ramped up enforcement as concerns increase regarding unregulated crypto involvement.
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