UK Update: Brits Lose Thousands in ‘Crypto Muggings’ and Beware of SIM Swapping

Key insights:

• London police have reported there are thieves who target crypto investors on the street.
• Criminals lure smartphones from the owners.
• Once the phone ends up in the hands of thieves, they covertly transfer crypto to other accounts.

Police in the United Kingdom is investigating a spate of “crypto muggings” in London, where victims have reportedly lost thousands of pounds in cryptocurrency.

Criminals are targeting people’s crypto investments handled on smartphones by either luring them from the owners or applying physical force to gain access to accounts. Once the phone ends up in the hands of thieves, they covertly transfer cryptocurrencies, such as ether (ETH) or XRP, out of the victim’s account. After that, however, the phones are handed back to the victims.

David Gerard, the author of the Attack on the 50 Foot Blockchain book, told The Guardian:

“If I get robbed and they force me to make a bank transfer, the bank can trace where the money has gone and there are all sorts of comebacks. You can reverse the transaction. With crypto, if I transfer it to my crypto wallet I’ve got your coins and you can’t get them back.”

Stealing crypto through SIM swapping

Also reported earlier today, Robert Barr, 24, an alleged crypto hacker accused of stealing over $8.6 million in cryptocurrency may be extradited from the UK to the US.

US authorities claim the young Scot stole from crypto dealer Reggie Middleton located in Boston and, then, transferred the assets to another account. Barr reportedly had two accomplices in the SIM swapping scheme.

Now, Barr, who was arrested by Scottish police and, then, freed on bail, is facing up to 20 years in jail.

SIM swapping is a popular method used to steal people’s funds. Last November, Canadian police arrested a teenager who had reportedly stolen a whopping $36.5 million in cryptocurrencies.

Prior to that, a UK teen had been convicted of establishing a phishing site and using Google Ads to scam users who shop online.

Phone scams proliferate

In April, the US Federal Trade Commission issued a warning on a new crypto payment scam scheme. Scammers call people pretending to be someone from the government, law enforcement, or a local utility company.

Whatever it is criminals tell you, they end up asking you for money, and if you are engaged, they direct you to withdraw money from your account.

“Then they’ll tell you to go to a store with a cryptocurrency ATM (and they’ll stay on the phone the whole time). Once you’re there, they’ll direct you to insert your money into the ATM and buy cryptocurrency. Here’s where the QR code comes in: they send you a QR code with their address embedded in it. Once you buy the cryptocurrency, they have you scan the code so the money gets transferred to them. But then your money is gone.” the announcement further explained.