A sophisticated cryptocurrency fraud ring has fleeced nine Kent residents of over £1 million, authorities warn. The intricate operation exploited a prior data leak, weaponizing stolen personal information to fabricate official-looking Action Fraud reports.
Victims were initially contacted by a perpetrator posing as a police officer, who “reassured” them of an ongoing investigation. This carefully orchestrated facade led to a second call, this time from a supposed “security officer” from the victim’s cryptocurrency wallet host. This individual then coerced victims into divulging their “seed phrase” – the crucial 12 or 24-word key to their digital assets.
Once in possession of the “seed phrase“, the criminals swiftly rebuilt the victims’ wallets, draining them of all cryptocurrency before transferring the funds to untraceable accounts.
Kent Police are urging residents to remain hyper-vigilant, emphasizing that legitimate law enforcement and cryptocurrency platforms will never request seed phrases. Investigators are currently pursuing all available leads in this complex case.
Detective Sergeant Darryll Paulson said:
‘I urge anyone contacted by someone claiming to be from a crypto host, or from the police, not to give out any personal details.
‘Scammers are becoming increasingly more calculating in their methods to defraud their victims into losing a substantial amount of money and will often create urgency in the situation, such as telling them they need to act now to stop their funds from being stolen.
‘Don’t be embarrassed about reporting a scam, it only takes a second to be distracted and fall victim.’