New scam in Stevens Point uses Bitcoin ATMs to steal thousands of dollars – WSAW
STEVENS POINT, Wis. (WSAW) – Every day it seems like scammers are getting more creative and now there is a new scam hitting Stevens Point that involves Bitcoin ATMs.
Here is how the scam works:
You receive an email from PayPal saying your account has fraudulent activity, then you will be asked to make a transaction at Bitcoin.
They may ask you to transact a certain amount of money from your account, one person in Stevens Point was asked to send $16,000. If you don’t answer the first call, they’ll likely keep calling until you do or you do something about it.
“They’re very direct, they tell you exactly what to do, and they won’t let you hang up the phone,” said Lieutenant Joseph Johnson of the Stevens Point Police Department.
Now, they’re telling you something bad has happened, but they can fix it.
“They don’t want you to hang up the phone, they want to stay on the phone with you the entire time and walk you through the process. They say if it doesn’t work here, let’s drive up to Weston or go somewhere else,” said Johnson.
This is exactly what one victim did. Police say she really thought she had to send this money, so she went to the Bitcoin ATM and deposited $16,000, even though one UPS worker saw the red flags.
“They saw people get out on their phone and go into the store for the same exact thing, so obviously they intercepted that right away and told them, “Hey, you’re getting scammed and explained to them why and how we knew they were getting scammed because clearly, they believed in the process,” said Johnson.
So, this is what you have to remember to do your research. It’s okay to be curious but be prepared to end the conversation.
“Same number comes up ten times, answer it. You know, if you want to answer it, answer it, but then if you know, in the first five seconds or ten seconds, “Yeah, this doesn’t seem right,” you just hang up. You know that’s the part that gets you is the engagement,” said Director Bureau of Consumer Protection for the State of Wisconsin Michael Domke.
This is the advice Domke gives, watch the news, see what scams are out there before you give away your money.
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