Kent Police Warn of Fraudsters Posing as Officers to Steal Crypto Savings

Kent Police is reminding residents to be alert to fraud after a wave of cold calls from criminals posing as police officers, which has already cost at least two victims money from their cryptocurrency accounts.

On Thursday 1 October, several members of the public reported receiving phone calls from people claiming to be from the police. In some cases the number shown falsely appeared to be a genuine Kent Police number; in others, callers gave a named officer and a station, provided a reference number, and even supplied a false email address for victims to use. The callers claimed the victim's passport or personal details were being used in a crime and, as part of a supposed investigation, asked for money.

Two victims reported losing money after being persuaded to hand over details of their crypto accounts, including seed phrases - the string of words that function like a master password and can be used to empty a crypto wallet entirely. Kent Police say enquiries into the reports are ongoing as officers work to identify the offenders.

Kent Police are reminding residents that officers will never ask people to transfer money as part of an investigation, and advise never giving personal or financial information in response to an incoming call - particularly a request involving a crypto wallet or its seed phrase, which should always be kept secret. Anyone who receives such a call is advised to end it immediately, wait five minutes or use a different line before calling police to report it, and to apply the force's "ABC" rule: never Assume someone is telling the truth, never Believe what they say unless you're confident of who they are, and always Confirm the details they've given you independently.

Anyone who believes they've received one of these fake calls can report it to Kent Police on 101 or via its website, or contact Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040. Anyone with information that could assist the ongoing enquiry should call Kent Police on 01622 604100, quoting reference 02-1045. Source: Kent Police