A scammer impersonating a senior UK police officer has stolen approximately $2.8 million worth of bitcoin from a victim in North Wales, according to local police.
The North Wales Police Cyber Crime team reported that the targeted theft exploited a disturbing new trend: scammers identifying long-term bitcoin holders, possibly via data breaches, and using social engineering techniques to gain access to their cold storage wallets.
How the scam unfolded
The North Wales Police described how the victim was contacted by someone claiming to be a high-ranking law enforcement official.
The scammer alleged they had arrested an individual with the victim’s identification documents, warning that the victim could be at risk for further security breaches.
Under this pretense, the victim was urged to ‘secure their assets’ by logging into their cold wallet through a link provided by the scammer.
The police detailed the next step:
“The victim, worried and believing that they were following police instructions, entered their seed phrase (password) into what was a sophisticated, fake website.”
Once the scammers had the seed phrase, they gained full access and quickly withdrew all funds from the wallet.
Police advice for bitcoin holders
Authorities are working to trace and recover the stolen bitcoin.
The North Wales Police emphasized that real officers would never call unexpectedly to discuss bitcoin assets or request action on cold storage devices.
They advised anyone contacted in this manner to hang up and verify the call with local police directly. Importantly, law enforcement will never request a bitcoin seed phrase.
Rise in impersonation scams
Police warn that scammers are continually evolving their tactics, now targeting experienced bitcoin holders with advanced social engineering.
The US FBI has also warned of similar schemes, including scammers pretending to be bitcoin exchange employees to gain account access, and deepfake audio attacks impersonating US officials.
Protecting your bitcoin assets
As scammers become more sophisticated, verifying the identity of anyone requesting sensitive information is critical.
Bitcoin holders are encouraged to remain vigilant and never share their wallet seed phrases under any circumstances.
