The North Wales Police in the UK has launched an investigation into the theft of bitcoins worth $2.8 million (£2.1 million). The fraudster posed as a senior detective to gain the victim's trust. The police statement said this case 'highlights a new worrying trend targeting cryptocurrency holders using cold storage devices.'
At the current stage of the investigation, it is believed that the victim's data may have been compromised due to a data leak, which allowed the fraudster to implement a complex and targeted scheme.
Fraud Scheme
The victim was contacted by a 'UK law enforcement officer' who claimed that their personal data had been found on the phone of a recently arrested criminal. The scammer then used intimidation tactics to convince the victim to 'secure their assets' by accessing their cold storage device through a phishing link. Believing they were communicating with a police officer, the victim followed the instructions and went to a fake website. The fraudster needed only a few minutes to withdraw the bitcoins.
Police Reaction
The police urged investors and cryptocurrency holders to be more vigilant and emphasized that real detectives never call citizens to discuss their crypto assets or cold storage devices.
Previously, the FBI in the USA warned about a similar scheme: scammers pretended to be employees of cryptocurrency exchanges, reported alleged problems with accounts, and gained access to wallets through deception.
In April, the FBI in the USA published its annual report on cybercrime for 2024 (IC3). Over the year, the Internet Crime Complaint Center received 859,532 reports of incidents online.