UK police have been working hard to recover the funds of a victim after a scammer stole 2.1 million British Pounds (2.8 million dollars) worth Bitcoin from him by impersonating an senior police officer.
North Wales Police Cyber Crime Unit said The FBI said that they are investigating the Bitcoin theft (BTC) on Tuesday. “highlights a disturbing new trend targeting long-term crypto holders who use cold storage devices.”
It is possible that the victim was identified through a breach of data. “highly targeted and advanced scam,” Police added.
The police in the UK have warned for years about scammers impersonating Con artists are often government or law enforcement officials. They can use anything from a simple request for payment, to multi-faceted, elaborate schemes that hide the scam.
Police say that an officer impersonating a crypto-theft suspect has been arrested
North Wales Police confirmed that an individual contacted a victim. “posing as a senior UK law enforcement officer.”
Scammers claimed to have arrested someone who had stolen the victim’s ID documents on their phone and warned that the victim could be exposed to many security risks.
Exploiting a “sense of fear and urgency,” The victim told police that the police had instructed him to “secure their assets” Logging into their cold crypto wallet using the link provided by the fake police.
“The victim, worried and believing that they were following police instructions, entered their seed phrase (password) into what was a sophisticated, fake website.”
Now that the scammers had total access and control of the wallet, they removed the Bitcoins worth $2.8million.
Police say that you should not trust, but rather verify
North Wales Police is working hard to recover funds and has told those who hold crypto how to confirm they are speaking to real officers. It also explained what the law would actually ask.
“Police will NEVER call you unexpectedly to discuss your crypto assets or ask you to take action on your cold storage device. This is a big red flag,” “The team” said.
They advised that if someone claimed to be from the law enforcement agency, to contact them directly and verify whether or not they were legitimate. Police would never request a crypto. seed phrase.
Related: Crypto giants launch ‘Beacon Network’ to track and freeze stolen crypto
“Scammers are constantly evolving their tactics,” North Wales Police said. “They are not just targeting new investors; they are crafting sophisticated social engineering schemes to trick even the most diligent holders.”
Other impersonation scams are also being reported by police
US FBI has warned that scammers have been active in the US. posing as crypto exchange employeesContacting potential victims and claiming that they are having account issues, then tricking them to send information to gain access to the account.
FBI alerted in May of the use of deepfakes – voice messages that are based on artificially intelligent technology. masquerading as senior US officials A campaign is being run primarily to target current and former federal or state government employees in the US.
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Source: cointelegraph.com
