North Wales Police Investigate £2.1M Bitcoin Cold Storage Theft

North Wales Police are investigating a sophisticated £2.1 million Bitcoin theft where a scammer impersonated a senior UK law enforcement officer to defraud a long-term crypto holder. The scammer falsely claimed that the victim's personal details were found on a suspect's phone and urged the victim to 'secure their assets' by logging into their cold storage device via a phishing link. Believing the instructions were legitimate, the victim entered their seed phrase on a fake website, allowing the scammers to quickly access and steal the entire Bitcoin wallet. Police emphasized that they would never call individuals to discuss crypto holdings or request seed phrases, warning this is a major red flag indicative of a scam. The case highlights an alarming trend of criminals using advanced social engineering tactics targeting experienced crypto investors, especially those using cold storage devices. Authorities urged anyone receiving unexpected calls from purported officers to hang up and verify through official channels to protect their assets.