Hacker Impersonates Police Officer to Steal $2,8 Million in BTC

North Wales Police are investigating a $2,8m Bitcoin theft after a fraudster posing as a senior UK law enforcement official convinced the victim to reveal the wallet’s seed words.

The perpetrator is known to have claimed that the arrested suspect’s phone contained identification documents for the victim and urged her to «protect» her assets. Believing him, the gullible user entered passwords to restore access to the fake website, which allowed the hackers to penetrate the wallet and withdraw funds in a matter of minutes.

UK police have already warned cryptocurrency holders that law enforcement will not contact them to discuss their crypto assets or give them instructions on how to operate cold storage devices. They also stressed that no legitimate company or agency will ever ask for a seed phrase.

Such social engineering attacks, where cybercriminals trick victims into providing sensitive wallet credentials, are common in the crypto industry. TRM Labs, a blockchain security firm, noted that in the first half of 2025, the theft of private keys and seed phrases accounted for about 80% of stolen funds.

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