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The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office has received two reports from victims of Bitcoin scam and each victim was presented with a different scam.

 

One of the scams involved the scammer calling and telling the victim that they failed to show up for jury duty and that they had a warrant for their arrest.  The scammer told the victim that they could avoid going to jail if they paid their fine by bitcoin.  The scammer texted the victim a QR code for the bitcoin transaction that gave the victim instructions as to which convenience store to go to, according to a news release from JCSO.

 

Terrified by the threat of jail, the victim did as instructed.  The victim went to the bank and withdrew the large sum of cash.  The victim went to the first location and deposited $10,000.00 cash.  The scammer said that the transaction didn’t go through so the scammer sent the victim to 2 more locations.  After the 3rd $10,000.00 transaction, the scammer told the victim that the last transaction did go through and to go to the Sheriff’s Office to get reimbursed for the other two “failed” transactions.  When the victim arrived at the Sheriff’s Office and relayed the story, the victim realized that it was a scam.  

 

The second scam involved the McAfee Malware Scam. The victim received a deceptive pop-up on their computer falsely claiming that their computer was infected and that their information has been compromised.  Once the victim clicked into the notification, the scammer advised that they could recover the information for $2,000.00. The victim was instructed to go to a specific bitcoin machine and pay the $2,000.00. After the funds were deposited and there were no changes to the victim’s computer, the victim realized that they had been scammed.

 

Key things to remember about these scams

• Law Enforcement will NEVER call and demand payment over the phone to avoid arrest

 

• Courts will NEVER call and demand payment over the phone to avoid arrest.

• Government agencies and Utility companies will NOT demand payment via Bitcoin, gift cards or similar methods.

• ANY DEMAND for immediate payment, especially with threats, is a major red flag.

• If you receive ANY demand for payment, no matter who the callers say they represent, HANG UP and contact the business yourself.

• No LEGITIMATE entity will demand payment by cryptocurrency or promise you a reward or refund by paying in cryptocurrency.

• You will NOT be able to reverse a cryptocurrency transaction.

• Scammers will use Caller ID SPOOFING to make their call appear local.  They can even make it appear to be coming from your local law enforcement agency. 

Important

• If you have been the victim of a Bitcoin scam, do not feel ashamed. Scammers are skilled manipulators and these scams are widespread.  

• These scammers use high-pressure tactics and threats of arrest to manipulate victims into making immediate payments using Bitcoin – a digital currency that is difficult to track or recover.

• Once payment is made, the funds can be funneled into multiple accounts immediately.

• Never give out your personnel or financial information to someone who contacts you.

If you have been the victim of a scam, contact your local law enforcement agency.