Fraudster posing as detective tricks investor into stealing $2.8 million in bitcoins
Date: 2025-08-22 Author: Gabriel Deangelo Categories: IN WORLD
North Wales Police are investigating a major crime involving the theft of around $2.8 million (£2.1 million) in bitcoins. The attacker posed as a senior detective and convinced the victim that her personal data was on the phone of a recently arrested criminal. Using fear and pressure, the fraudster forced the victim to click on a fake link and “protect the assets” via a cold storage device. As a result, the funds were instantly withdrawn to the attacker’s accounts.
According to investigators, the leak of personal information played a key role in the success of the attack. It allowed the fraudster to create a plausible legend and target a specific cryptocurrency owner. Police note that this is an example of a new trend: criminals are actively adapting their methods to users who store digital assets in cold wallets.
How the scheme worked
The call came allegedly from a representative of the UK law enforcement agencies. The fake detective reported that during the investigation, the criminal's phone was found, which contained the victim's data. Then came the pressure: the fraudster claimed that it was necessary to immediately secure the bitcoins. To do this, he directed the victim to a phishing resource that imitated the official service. Confident that he was following the police instructions, the cryptocurrency owner entered the access data. Within a few minutes, the bitcoins were stolen.
Warning for investors
Law enforcement agencies emphasize: police officers never call citizens with offers to discuss crypto assets or storage procedures. All such calls are fraudulent.
The case in North Wales echoes warnings previously published by the US FBI. In April of this year, the agency reported an increase in the number of attacks in which scammers pretended to be employees of crypto exchanges. Victims were called under the pretext of "account problems" and convinced to disclose access data to wallets.
According to the IC3 report for 2024, more than 859 thousand complaints of internet crimes were recorded in the US alone. Experts note that a significant share of the complaints are related to cryptocurrency fraud.
The UK police urge all holders of digital assets to exercise extreme caution. Any suspicious calls or letters should be immediately checked through official sources. A cryptocurrency owner should never share access data for cold wallets with third parties, regardless of who they claim to be.
Thus, the case of the theft of $2.8 million has become another confirmation: criminals are increasing pressure on the crypto market, and the protection of personal information is of paramount importance for investors today.
