North Wales Police report a targeted Bitcoin theft after a scammer impersonated a senior officer and tricked a long-term holder into entering their cold-wallet seed phrase, resulting in a loss of £2.1 million (~$2.8M). The case highlights evolving social-engineering tactics against cold storage users.
Impersonation led to seed phrase disclosure
Scammers used fear and urgency to prompt the victim to access a fake wallet site.
Police say the victim may have been identified via a data breach; investigation ongoing.
Bitcoin theft via police impersonation: £2.1M stolen from cold storage; learn how to verify calls and protect seed phrases — read guidance from COINOTAG.
What happened in the UK Bitcoin theft by impersonation?
Bitcoin theft occurred when a scammer posing as a senior UK law enforcement officer convinced a long-term holder to enter their cold-wallet seed phrase on a sophisticated fake website, enabling the attacker to transfer £2.1 million (~$2.8M) in BTC within hours. North Wales Police are investigating recovery options.
How did the scammer gain access to the victim?
North Wales Police say the scam was “highly targeted and advanced.” The attacker contacted the victim claiming a detained person had their ID and suggested multiple security risks. Using a sense of fear and urgency, the scammer provided a link to a fraudulent site and instructed the victim to “secure assets” by entering a seed phrase.
‘,
‘
🚀 Advanced Trading Tools Await You!
Maximize your potential. Join now and start trading!
‘,
‘
📈 Professional Trading Platform
Leverage advanced tools and a wide range of coins to boost your investments. Sign up now!
‘
];
var adplace = document.getElementById(“ads-bitget”);
if (adplace) {
var sessperindex = parseInt(sessionStorage.getItem(“adsindexBitget”));
var adsindex = isNaN(sessperindex) ? Math.floor(Math.random() * adscodesBitget.length) : sessperindex;
adplace.innerHTML = adscodesBitget[adsindex];
sessperindex = adsindex === adscodesBitget.length – 1 ? 0 : adsindex + 1;
sessionStorage.setItem(“adsindexBitget”, sessperindex);
}
})();
Worried and believing they were following police instructions, the victim entered their seed phrase into a convincing fake site. The fraudsters then withdrew the entire wallet balance—estimated at $2.8 million in Bitcoin—almost immediately.
Police guidance is clear: law enforcement will never ask for a crypto seed phrase or call unexpectedly about crypto assets. Hang up on suspicious calls, use official police channels to verify claims, and never follow links or enter your seed phrase on unsolicited sites.
Criminals increasingly target long-term holders who keep large balances in hardware wallets. Cold-storage users are attractive because a single compromised seed phrase gives attackers full control of funds. Law enforcement and cybersecurity specialists note that data breaches and social engineering feed these targeted campaigns.
‘
];
var adplace = document.getElementById(“ads-binance”);
if (adplace) {
var sessperindex = parseInt(sessionStorage.getItem(“adsindexBinance”));
var adsindex = isNaN(sessperindex) ? Math.floor(Math.random() * adscodesBinance.length) : sessperindex;
adplace.innerHTML = adscodesBinance[adsindex];
sessperindex = adsindex === adscodesBinance.length – 1 ? 0 : adsindex + 1;
sessionStorage.setItem(“adsindexBinance”, sessperindex);
}
})();
Source: https://en.coinotag.com/bitcoin-worth-2-8-million-stolen-in-suspected-police-impersonation-scam-north-wales-police-say/