Two Southborough residents recently lost more than $30,000 in Bitcoin scams

Norman Miller, The MetroWest Daily News
·3 min read
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SOUTHBOROUGH — Scammers posing as federal authorities scammed two residents out of a total of $31,800 last month in what police are describing as a Bitcoin scam.

One resident was scammed out of $30,000 and the other was scammed out of $1,800, Police Lt. Sean McCarthy said.

"We're working with local and state authorities, as well as forensic accountants, to see what can be done for these people," McCarthy said.

Both incidents occurred on July 24, although the two victims are not connected, the lieutenant said.

"The ruse they (the scammers) used this time around — generally there are many different scams — this one was they (the scammers) were the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, and they told the victims their Social Security numbers were compromised," McCarthy said.

This Bitcoin ATM is inside Framingham Liquors on Marble Street in Framingham, June 9, 2022. It was not used in either of two recent scams targeting Southborough residents.
This Bitcoin ATM is inside Framingham Liquors on Marble Street in Framingham, June 9, 2022. It was not used in either of two recent scams targeting Southborough residents.

'She was hacked': Woman was about to lose $30K in Bitcoin scheme; Sudbury store clerk intervenes

The victims were transferred to a person who identified themselves as a U.S. marshal, then told victims they needed to send them Bitcoin to fix the problem, McCarthy said.

Bitcoin is a form of cryptocurrency in which money is transferred and exchanged digitally.

Bitcoin scams have cropped up elsewhere

One victim went to a Bitcoin ATM in Ashland, while the second went to one in Milford. They put the money into the machine, got a Bitcoin code and then gave the code to the scammers. Once the code is transferred, the money is gone, McCarthy said.

This type of scam isn't just happening in Southborough.

Last year, several Sudbury residents and people from surrounding communities fell victim to a similar scam, all using a Bitcoin ATM at Sudbury Sundries on Boston Post Road. In some cases, alert clerks became suspicious and stopped victims from sending codes, recognizing it as a scam.

'Money is going offshore': Bitcoin scams are piling up in Sudbury

This scam is just a number of those involving cryptocurrency that occur nationally, according to the Better Business Bureau. Scammers have victims create their own online digital wallets, deposit money into them and then transfer it to the scammers' digital wallet using cryptocurrency.

According to a study by the International Assocation of Business Bureaus, cryptocurrency scam reports increased from 451 in 2019, costing people a little less than $5 million, to 2,465 in 2021, costing people about $8 million. Those numbers are just for scams that get reported federally.

In addition, the study estimates that only about 5% of cryptocurrency scams are reported. Complaints can be made to IC3.gov.

"The FBI warns that scammers provide victims with a QR code to their phone, representing the 'address' of the Bitcoin wallet receiving the funds," according to the BBB study. "The machine scans the code, and the money goes into the blockchain. The recipient can cash it out in just a few minutes after the blockchain is updated."

Police urge consumers to heed warnings on Bitcoin ATMs

Most Bitcoin ATMs have several warnings on the machine, both physical signs and digitally, McCarthy said, adding that people should heed those warnings.

McCarthy said people must be alert. The scammers, he said, are advanced. They will create fake phone numbers and even fake websites to mimic government websites to present themselves as legitimate.

Government agencies, he said, will not require crypto payment. He said if people receive such a call, they should hang up and find a number online of the agency and call and confirm. He said do not use a number or website that's provided by a caller.

"My biggest piece of advice for people is to be wary of such requests," said McCarthy. "Once you put that hard currency in the machine, it's being turned into crypto currency, and it will be gone. It doesn't seem age is a factor. A lot of people may think it's older people, but it's all over the spectrum."

Norman Miller can be reached at 508-626-3823 or nmiller@wickedlocal.com. For up-to-date public safety news, follow him on Twitter @Norman_MillerMW or on Facebook at facebook.com/NormanMillerCrime.

This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Two Southborough residents fall prey to cryptocurrency scam