Kent police issue warning after over £1 million lost in crypto scam

Kent police have issued a warning after nine people in the area lost a combined £1m in a cryptocurrency scam.

"fake Action Fraud reports" were generated after a data leak saw their information compromised.

A fake officer would tell the victims to "expect a call from the crypto wallet host".

They then received a second call and asked for their seed phrase -12 or 24 words that allows users to manage their cryptocurrency wallets, this is when the funds were moved.

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.'