from Pennsylvania State Police
The Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) Troop L – Reading is advising the public of a newer Bitcoin scam.
Victims are reporting that they were contacted via email, phone, or other electronic means advising them that fraudulent activity has occurred utilizing their personal information. These electronic communications further advise the victims to reach out to actors posing as representatives for their financial institution. From here, this “representative” directs the victim to a federal agency, such as the FBI or Federal Trade Commission, to speak to an investigator. This “investigator” then directs the victims to make large cash withdraws from their banking accounts and then requests that they deposit the money into local Bitcoin Kiosks in order to “safeguard their money.” Once the deposit is made into the kiosk, the “investigator” requests the victim provide confirmation via a paper receipt or link the account to theirs via a QR code. The receipt contains a numerical key, which allows the actor to access the money deposited into the kiosk and, ultimately, the money is transferred unbeknownst from the victim.
Due to the nature of Bitcoin, once the transfer is complete, it is essentially untraceable and cannot be tracked to a specific individual. It appears that the actors are “spoofing” their telephone number to make it appear that the victim is truly speaking to someone from their financial institution. There is normally no solvability due to the nature of the crime. These incidents appear to be targeting folks specifically of retirement age.
- National Do Not Call Registry: 888-382-1222
- Federal Trade Commission: 877-382-4357
- Forward phishing emails to the Federal Trade Commission at spam@uce.gov
- Better Business Bureau: 877-267-5222
- National Center for Disaster Fraud: 866-720-5721
- IRS’s database of Charity Organizations: www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/tax-exempt-organization-search
- US Postal Inspection Service: 877-876-2455
- Pennsylvania Attorney General: 800-441-2555
For more information on the Pennsylvania State Police, visit www.psp.pa.gov.
