Oct. 22—A 67-year-old Fairfield Twp. woman was scammed out of $88,000 in a cryptocurrency scheme last December.
The Ohio Attorney General’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) and the Butler County Prosecutor’s Office jointly investigated the scam that was reported following the Dec. 4, 2024, theft.
The Fairfield Twp. woman who was victimized reported a prompt appeared on her computer screen suggesting the device was hacked. A number was provided on the prompt and that led her to “a Microsoft technician.”
That technician was a scammer, according to BCI and the county prosecutor’s office. The woman then talked to people who posed variously as representatives of her bank and the Social Security Administration.
Investigators say these bad actors persuaded the woman to buy a new laptop and grant them access to it. She was then instructed to withdraw money from her banking accounts — $88,000 in total — and deposit it into a cryptocurrency kiosk.
It was only after she had done as the scammers asked she realized she had been defrauded and called the Fairfield Twp. Police Department. BCI’s Electronic Financial Investigations unit was called in to assist.
Butler County Assistant Prosecutor Garrett Baker said when the bad actors lie, telling them their back account had been misused and they could be arrested as a result.
“Then the fear kicks in and people start to panic, they’re told to transfer money out of their bank account,” he said. “If anybody says you need to use a crypto ATM is a scammer.”
In this case with the Fairfield Twp. woman, she bought a new laptop and they were able to transfer funds.
“This is a scam I’m starting to see with increase frequency,” he said, advising people to “never give people remote access to your computer, certainly not someone from Microsoft and a bank would never ask for that.”
Butler County Prosecutor Mike Gmoser said while scammers use technology to steal from the elderly population, “we can use that same technology and the long arm of the law to get those stolen funds back.”
BCI and the Butler County Prosecutor’s Office were able to trace the money and placed a freeze on additional transfers to the scammer.
With the help of search warrants and a court order, $36,000 was recovered and returned to the victim.
“Technology drives innovation, but sometimes cybercriminals are behind the wheel,” said Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost. “While we can help after the fact, your best defense is to be skeptical anytime a stranger asks you to make a financial transaction.”
Detecting cryptocurrency scams
Education and prevention are the best weapons against cryptocurrency scams, according to the Ohio AG’s office.
Targets of fraud have typically been older adults who appear to be vulnerable or confused. They may be prompted to call a phone number, and then directed, as the Fairfield Twp. woman had, to withdraw a large amount of cash and deposit into a Bitcoin ATM.
There are various fake reasons used when targeting victims, including: — provide bail or remove a warrant for a loved one; — have a virus removed from a computer; — help with a hacked computer or account; — keep alleged pornographic photos private; and — help an online romantic partner they have never met.
Consumers are encouraged to be skeptical if asked by unknown individuals to make financial transactions. Suspected scams should be reported to local law enforcement immediately.