Sep. 2—The Connecticut State Police are reminding residents to beware of scams involving cryptocurrency.
The warning traces its roots to June of this year when the Connecticut State Police Mansfield Resident Trooper’s Office received a complaint about a possible cryptocurrency scam. The victim deposited $ 10,000 into a Bitcoin ATM after being led to believe that her bank account had been hacked.
Detectives from the Statewide Organized Crime Investigative Task Force were able to trace the flow of funds through a series of Bitcoin accounts that the scammer attempted to use to launder the stolen Bitcoin.
Ultimately, the victim’s Bitcoin was being held in an account controlled by the suspect of a major cryptocurrency exchange located in the Cayman Islands.
With the cooperation of the cryptocurrency exchange, detectives were able to repatriate the funds to a government- controlled Bitcoin account, where it is being held pending court proceedings for restitution to the victim.
The suspect currently resides in India and no arrest is anticipated at this time.
Connecticut State Police said that scams involving cryptocurrency are on the rise and are becoming increasingly more sophisticated.
According to Connecticut State Police, the most common cryptocurrency scams often begin with a strange text message, email or phone call. Scammers will often lure victims to cryptocurrency ATMs or webbased investment sites or exchange platforms where it is relatively easy to convert U.S. dollars into cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana.
Connecticut State Police said that in a cryptocurrency scam, a victim is often led to believe that their bank account or investments are under attack. The victim is then prompted to convert those assets to cryptocurrency and send them to a secure account which is controlled by the scammer.
Scammers may also tempt victims with a get rich quick scheme, enticing them to invest in a new cryptocurrency coin, which is ultimately a fake investment.
Connecticut State Police have offered some red flags to look for in determining cryptocurrency scams. One of them is that no legitimate bank, business or government agency will direct a person to withdraw money from their bank account.
Another red flag is if a third party is sending a
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