A police force has issued a warning to cryptocurrency holders after a victim lost £2.1 million in Bitcoin to a “sophisticated scam”.
North Wales Police said a person posing as a senior UK officer tricked the victim into entering their password on a fake site by using a false story about a security breach.
The case highlights a “disturbing new trend”, the force said, with scammers “crafting sophisticated social engineering schemes to trick even the most diligent holders”.
It has urged people to remain vigilant and trust their instincts, and has issued guidance to help prevent similar attacks.
Police said those targeted may have been identified through a data breach “making this a highly targeted and advanced scam”.
It involved the victim being told a fabricated story that police had arrested an individual whose phone contained the victim’s personal identification documents.
Exploiting “fear” and “urgency”, they urged the victim to “secure their assets” by logging in via a fake website link – believing it was legitimate, the victim entered their password.
This gave the apparent perpetrators access to rebuild the victim’s wallet and steal £2.1 million within a “matter of moments”.
The force said it was working to trace the funds but warned the case “serves as a reminder that scammers are constantly evolving their tactics”.
It also issued several pieces of advice:
- Police will never call you unexpectedly about your crypto or ask you to use your cold storage device – this is a big red flag.
- If unsure, hang up and call 101 to check if the contact was real.
- Never share or enter your password anywhere except directly on your cold storage device during setup or recovery.
- No legitimate company or police officer will ever ask for your seed phrase.