12/12/2022
Stay smart over the holidays... and every day.
https://www.facebook.com/100064480098627/posts/518919930267339/?mibextid=Nif5oz
**12/12/22 - SCAM ALERT FOR CLALLAM COUNTY RESIDENTS**
In the last few days, the Clallam County Sheriff's Office has taken reports of residents losing several thousand dollars to scammers who convince them to withdraw money, deposit it into a bitcoin machine or ATM and they send the victim a QR code and tell them to hold the code up to the machine. Once it is scanned the money is deposited into the scammer's account and there is no way for the victim to recover their money.
These scammers have used the "Jury Duty Warrant" and "Microsoft Security Alert" scams to convince the victims they were legitimate. These victims were convinced through very sophisticated methods and bullying tactics to give their money to these scammers. The scammer keeps the victim on the line, tells them to lie to their bank about why they are withdrawing the large sums of money and scares the victim into believing if they don't comply with the scammer's demands they will lose large amounts of money or the police will arrest them or their loved one.
Please do not call phone numbers from websites or texts that you are unfamiliar with. NEVER give out your banking or personal information to anyone and hang up if you receive an unsolicited phone call. Scammers count on their ability to keep you on the line long enough to convince or scare you into submitting to their demands.
Below is information from the Federal Trade Commission on this type of scam.
Business and government impersonation scams are responsible for $133 million in reported crypto losses since 2021. These scams can start with a text about a supposedly unauthorized Amazon purchase, or an alarming online pop-up made to look like a security alert from Microsoft. From there, people are reportedly told the fraud is extensive and their money is at risk. The scammers may even get the “bank” on the line to back up the story. (Pro tip: it’s not the bank.)
In another twist, scammers impersonating border patrol agents have reportedly told people their accounts will be frozen as part of a drug trafficking investigation. These scammers tell people the only way to protect their money is to put it in crypto: people report that these “agents” direct them to take out cash and feed it into a crypto ATM. The “agent” then sends a QR code and says to hold it up to the ATM camera. But that QR code is embedded with the scammer’s wallet address. Once the machine scans it, their cash is gone.
People ages 20 to 49 were more than three times as likely as older age groups to have reported losing cryptocurrency to a scammer.
Reports point to people in their 30s as the hardest hit – 35% of their reported fraud losses since 2021 were in cryptocurrency. But median individual reported losses have tended to increase with age, topping out at $11,708 for people in their 70s.
Here are some things to know to steer clear of a crypto con:
Only scammers will guarantee profits or big returns. No cryptocurrency investment is ever guaranteed to make money, let alone big money.
Nobody legit will require you to buy cryptocurrency. Not to sort out a problem, not to protect your money. That’s a scam.
Never mix online dating and investment advice. If a new love interest wants to show you how to invest in crypto, or asks you to send them crypto, that’s a scam.
To learn more about cryptocurrency scams – and how to spot and avoid scams generally – visit ftc.gov/cryptocurrency and ftc.gov/scams. Report scams to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov
