WOOD COUNTY, WI (OnFocus) – On March 31, 2023 the Wood County Sheriff’s Department issued a Scam Alert where victims are asked to put US Currency into Cryptocurrency Machines in exchange for bitcoin or another cryptocurrency. Once the victim purchases the cryptocurrency the scammers take control of the digital wallet and the victim is out their money.
The Wood County Sheriff’s Department is again seeing an uptick in these scams in the past week. Scammers are targeting the elderly and individuals who are on the sex offender registry. No bank, business or government agency will ever contact you and tell you to come withdraw funds from your account or tell you to put those funds into a cryptocurrency (Bitcoin) machine.
These machines are often found in gas stations or convenience stores throughout our community and country. Cryptocurrency machines allow customers to purchase cryptocurrency like Bitcoin for a fee by inserting U.S. currency into the machine and receiving cryptocurrency in a digital wallet. Please note that cryptocurrency transactions are not protected or regulated like those conducted through a bank making both cryptocurrency and these style ATM’s very appealing to scammers.
There are legitimate purposes for consumers to purchase cryptocurrency through the machines but individuals should use caution like with any financial transaction.
Investigators from the Wood County Sheriff’s Department continue to attempt to retrieve the US Currency that is lost in these cryptocurrency machines but there is no guarantee as
funds/transactions are not federally insured like a normal banking institution.
If you become victim to one of these scams report the incident immediately. By reporting the incident in a timely manner it gives investigators the best chance in retrieving lost funds. Please don’t hesitate to report these incident your local law enforcement agency.
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