Police in Hampton are responding to a wave of recent complaints from residents who have fallen victim to cryptocurrency scams and say that the scammers’ level of sophistication and organization are concerning.
During a forum Friday inside Hampton Police headquarters, law enforcement officials estimated that losses for residents in just the past two years now exceed $2 million — and that’s only from victims who have come forward.
Detective Chris Keyser said that people should be on alert whenever they’re unsure of who is asking them for money, or if they’ve recently started an online relationship.
“If it is too good to be true, it’s too good to be true,” Keyser said. “And if somebody mentions crypto, and you don’t know who this person is, just run.”
Friday’s forum was organized by Sen. Maggie Hassan, who said she was recently targeted by a scammer pretending to be from her pharmacy.
“It’s not your fault if you’re scammed, and we want to hold the scammers accountable,” said Hassan.
Hampton resident Jennifer Roussin, who took part in the forum, told Hassan she was fleeced out of more than $25,000 in November. Roussin said she was initially approached by someone claiming to be from PayPal, the financial transaction company. The scammers then introduced her to a purported member of federal law enforcement, who persuaded Roussin to load money into a Bitcoin ATM for use in a sting operation.
It wasn’t until a representative at her local bank overheard the scammer explaining to Roussin what to do that the fraud was finally put to an end.
“When you hear about those types of stories, you think to yourself: ‘well, I’ll know. I’ll know when they try something like that on me.’ But you don’t,” she said. “They’re just that good.”
Hampton police officials said their agency has invested resources and been trained to better understand how to respond to cryptocurrency scams. Investigators from the New Hampshire Attorney General’s office also participated in the forum, and spoke of the need to alert the public about possible red flags.
Hassan said that she would consider supporting federal legislation that regulates cryptocurrency exchanges in ways similar to how big banks are regulated, so that a paper trail could help victims get at least a share of their money back.
“If we are going to move into a very cryptocurrency friendly economy and society, we are going to have to have some safeguards in place,” said Hassan.