Criminals are snatching mobile phones to steal money from digital currency accounts, police say.
Victims have reported having thousands of pounds swindled from their cryptocurrency accounts after their device was taken. Experts say that cryptocurrency transfers are irreversible, unlike a bank transfer.
Anonymised crime reports provided to The Guardian by City of London police as part of a freedom of information request highlighted the wave of “crypto-muggings”.
One victim reported being forced to hand over their phone as they ordered a taxi near Liverpool Street station, London last year. The gang eventually gave the handset back and the victim later discovered that £5,000 of ethereum digital currency was missing from their account with the investing platform Coinbase.
Another victim said that a mugger forced him
