Scammer Impersonates UK Police Officer to Steal £2.1 Million Worth of Cryptocurrency

ChainCatcher reports, citing Cointelegraph, that North Wales police are investigating a major cryptocurrency theft. A scammer impersonated a senior UK police officer and successfully stole Bitcoin worth £2.1 million (approximately $2.8 million).

According to the police, this was a "highly targeted and sophisticated scam," and the scammer may have obtained the victim's information through a data breach. The scammer claimed to have arrested a suspect in possession of the victim's identification documents, creating panic and a sense of urgency to induce the victim to log into their cold wallet via a provided link. Believing they were following police instructions, the victim entered their mnemonic phrase on a meticulously forged website, resulting in the theft of their funds.