Kent residents are being warned to be vigilant against cryptocurrency #fraud attempts following reports from nine victims.

The victims had a combined loss of over £1 million after their personal information was shared online following a data leak.

Personal details were taken from the data leak and used to generate fake Action Fraud reports.

Once these reports were created the victims were then contacted by someone claiming to be a police officer reassuring them that an investigation had been launched.

The officer then told them to expect a call from the crypto wallet host.

A second call was then received from someone claiming to be a security officer asking the victim for their seed phrase which is a 12 or 24-word phrase which allows users to control a cryptocurrency wallet.

With that information the fraudsters were able to rebuild the wallet, steal the funds and transfer them so that they can't be recovered.

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.'

Further advice

• If you are not confident a person who calls you claiming to be a security or police officer is genuine, ask to take their details and end the call.

• Wait for at least five minutes for the call to clear and then contact 101, or 999 in an emergency. A call handler will be able to verify whether your caller was genuine.

• For more information about fraud and advice on how to avoid becoming a victim visit: https://www.kent.police.uk/.../advice-and.../fa/fraud

• You can also visit the national Take Five campaign website at https://www.takefive-stopfraud.org.uk/