A man living near Bedford lost £300,000 in cryptocurrency after being tricked by fraudsters posing as police officers and company representatives, investigators have said.
The victim, from the Bedford area, was contacted in July 2025 and told his Bitcoin account had been compromised.
He was persuaded to move his cryptocurrency to what he was told was a “safe wallet” and to share his seed phrases, the random recovery words that act as the master key to a crypto account.
Once he had done so, the call ended, and he later discovered £300,000 had been stolen.
Arrests and wider investigation
The case forms part of a wider investigation by the Eastern Region Special Operations Unit (ERSOU) into scam calls targeting cryptocurrency holders across the UK.
On 18 February, officers arrested a man and woman, both in their 20s, at an address in Chelmsford, Essex, where phones and computers were seized. A third suspect, a 24-year-old man, was later arrested in Greenwich.
All three have been released on bail, subject to strict conditions.
Other victims and attempted frauds
Read: Police urge vigilance after spike in courier fraud targeting elderly in Bedfordshire
Investigators say colleagues from the North East Regional Special Operations Unit are also assisting after a victim in Northumbria reportedly lost £30,000 in similar circumstances.
Enquiries have identified at least four other intended victims across the UK who were contacted but did not suffer any financial loss, including one person living near Edenbridge in Kent.
According to police, victims were typically called by a man posing as a police officer, claiming that an arrested suspect had been found with either the victim’s driving licence details or information linked to the victim’s cryptocurrency.
A second call would then follow from a woman posing as a representative of a cryptocurrency company, who would try to obtain the victim’s seed phrases.
Police warning
Sherry Pugh, Fraud Protect Coordinator for ERSOU’s Regional Economic Crime Unit, said: “Crypto Investment Fraud is one of the fastest growing types of fraud in the UK.
Many of these scams follow the same pattern: unsolicited contact, then shifting the conversation to private messaging apps such as Telegram, WhatsApp, or Signal, and building a personal connection.
“Never share wallet keys or seed phrases, transfer crypto under pressure, or allow remote access to your phone or computer.”
Police have warned that officers will never call unexpectedly about cryptocurrency or ask people to access cold storage devices, and no legitimate company or police officer will ever ask for a seed phrase.
Anyone who thinks they may have been targeted or victimised by crypto fraud is urged to report it.
