Police Scotland has reported a staggering 2,000% increase in cryptocurrency-related crimes over the last six years, according to the force’s latest Policing in a Digital World report.

Serious and organised crime groups operating in Scotland have quickly adapted to the emerging tech as a key way of hiding their nefarious activities, but despite this, Police Scotland still does not have a dedicated cryptocurrency team.

Instead, the force is looking to its proposed Cyber and Fraud Command for a ‘refresh’ of its approach to crypto in line with other UK law enforcement agencies.

However, Police Scotland’s report makes it clear crypto-crime north of the border is no small problem.

As well as the surge in cryptocurrency crimes, Police Scotland said that last year alone, its Cyber Investigations unit received a total of 165 Cryptocurrency Support Requests, and that one enquiry referred civil recovery related to over $40 million (£30.8m) of cryptocurrency contained in USB devices.

According to the report, Police Scotland has made ‘significant strides’ in capability to tackle this growth in criminal behaviour, and now has two track and trace tools to target crypto, aligning them with the majority of UK and international law enforcement agencies.

More broadly, the report also highlights current operational issues faced by officers when investigating online crime.

Specifically, with cyber and fraud investigations being spread force wide among different units and departments, the report notes the presence of overlaps and competing demands between separate entities, which could hamper investigations.

In one notable example, an elderly victim from Biggar was defrauded of around £2.14 million in a vishing, courier and safe account scam, with the crooks using sophisticated techniques to convince them that their bank accounts and savings were at risk, before coaching them through de-investing their portfolio to purchase gold bullion.

In that case, unfortunately, Police Scotland said they had been unable to trace the gold, but had linked more victims in England to the scheme. 

The Serious and Organised Crime Financial Investigation Unit (SOCFIU), meanwhile, has seen more success over the last year, with fifty-five arrests and over £7.6 million of recoveries and items seized.

Recommended reading

• How Much Was Lost to Crypto Phishing Scams in 2024?
• UK Crypto Groups Urge Government to Back Blockchain
• ByBit Races to Stop Lazarus From Laundering $1.5bn Crypto Haul

Other successes touted in the report are the introduction of digital evidence detection dogs, digital forensic vans, the establishment of a data ethics and rights pathway, and the Police Cyber Alarm, which Police Scotland said 98 organisations have signed up to use so far.

Writing in the foreword to the report, Assistant Chief Constable Stuart Houston said: “As an organisation, we are continuing to transform our service in how we respond to the evolving threat of cybercrime.

“We are delivering on this commitment through investment in our officers and staff, on the frontline and in specialist roles, so that they have the confidence, training, skills, tools and support to meet these new challenges.”