With over $195,000 stolen in the past year, the Green Bay Police Department has sent out a warning on cryptocurrency scams becoming more common in the past three years.
As of August 2023, a man informed police that he lost over $37,000 when he deposited cash into a Bitcoin automated teller machine while following instructions from a network of individuals.
Since 2020, a total of $273,893 has been reported stolen. Scammers often convince victims to convert thousands of dollars in cash into cryptocurrency and then transfer it at a crypto ATM, through a phone call or an online pop-up message.
The scammers use tactics of manipulation by telling the victim they need to resolve some sort of crime, legal fee, fraud, hacking, identity theft, or package delivery issue by pretending to be a part of a large corporation or another person with credibility.
The scammers will often remain in contact until the transaction is complete.
Green Bay police tell the public to never grant permission for remote access to any electronic devices or to share personal information such as a social security number if the recipient is unknown.
They also remind citizens that no legitimate company or part of the government will require cryptocurrency as payment.
Victims of cyber scams are encouraged to report it to local law enforcement but to be aware that it can be difficult to track the scammers and get stolen money back.
