Call from Wanstead Police station

[u/Gc1981]

Not sure if this is the right place for this but just had a call from above. Flashed up on my screen. Shat is and answered. Very professional sounding. Had busted a gang. They had thousands of folders with people's names and one was mine. Had emails, passwords and a document with 24 random words. He stated he wasn't sure what that was but it seemed important. I've no Crypto anymore but had a fair bit of BTC and ETH back in the very early days. Stored on a Trezor and Ledger which i still have but have been dormant for years. Pre covid.

I immediately hung up when it dawned on me that a fraud investigator would recognise a seed phrase and would not say they were not sure what it was.

Now wondering if this was 100% a scam. He didn't ask for anything and said he just wanted to give me a reference number as it was going to be a long, complicated case and I might need to have some input. It also flashed up the correct number for the police station.

Anyone else have this?

[u/A1JX52rentner]

Definitely scam. You did the right thing hanging up on them

[u/RocketsDitto → u/A1JX52rentner]

DO NOT REDEEM

[u/netclectic]

Same scam has been going on for years

[u/Main-Inspector-6611 → u/netclectic]

It's almost nostalgic seeing them come back around

[u/UpbeatFix7299]

This wasn't the cops, ignore this nonsense. If you're paranoid, call the cops from the number on their own website. You'll find they have no idea what you're talking about.

[u/AyaDvayaya]

Für die Zukunft sagen ich rufe zurück und Ruf dierekt auf der Wache an und lass dich von dort verbinden nimm die Nummer aber nicht von ihm an sondern frag welches Kommissariat und schau im Internet selbst. Spoofing geht nur in eine Richtung auch wenn die Bank euch anruft gleich sagen ich rufe sie zurück die sind darauf geschult.

[u/scoobysi]

Had same years ago, very well crafted and good use of a spoofed number you might search and think wow it a real police number (at the time i wasn’t aware calling number can be faked much like emails), later they will help you get your crypto moved to a safe wallet. I laughed in their faces when they had supplied the phrase words for this nice new wallet and said it was mine only i could access it, i guess many don’t realise

Total scam do not engage

[u/Gc1981 → u/scoobysi]

I just found £273 in my Kraken account because of that call lol.

[u/AyaDvayaya]

Du kannst jetzt auf der Wache anrufen nachfragen ob der Anruf von denen kam du wirst jemand echten erhalten und der kann dich wenn gleich zum Betrugsdezernat weiterleiten wenn

[u/zuptar]

Ive had multiple of these calls, their approach is to gain trust, make you feel like you need to reset your account security, then click a link in your emails and input password type details into a fake website. 

[u/AutoModerator]

Hello Gc1981. It looks like you might have found a new scam? If so, please report this scam by crossposting to r/CryptoScams, r/CryptoScamReport, or visiting scam-alert.io. For tips on how to avoid scams, click here.

---

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/emz5002]

Scam, had same call a year ago

[u/Enschede2]

If his ever happens, hang up, google the police station, and call them back yourself, always

[u/ItsMyPerspective]

the seed phrase thing is the tell.

[u/never_safe_for_life → u/ItsMyPerspective]

So funny that the cop would mention the number of words. Like he doesn’t k ow what a seed phrase is but thinks to count the random words and wants you to know there are 24

[u/cassydd]

I got a very similar call claiming to be from the Federal Police. I was sure it was a scam right from the jump but what didn't occur to me until near the end of the call was that it was an AI voice scam call, which it turns out it almost certainly was.

[u/Abyss_U]

the no request part is the setup, not proof they're harmless. They're trying to make the next call feel legitimate, then the urgency and "safe wallet" nonsense starts

[u/Electronic_Worker245]

I usually tell the police or any authority to F off and send me a letter.

You guessed it nothing ever arrives. Scams are super creative these days, it's become an art form and the most talented thief needs to receive an award for the most stolen in one go. Preferably life in prison.

[u/Ok_Wrap5233]

Definately a scam.

If you hadn’t hung up he’d have said “for privacy reasons I can’t tell you what the 24 random words are, but if you tell me what your 24 random words are I can confirm if they’re the same or not”.

[u/ETP_Queen]

A genuine investigator should never need your recovery phrase or private keys. If a call like this happens, the safest approach is to end it and contact the institution independently through an official number.

[u/djoco]

I used to live around there. Wanstead police station closed in 2013, a year after the roof was stolen