Eye on Scams: $333 billion lost to cryptocurrency scams last year

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LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY) — $333 billion was lost from cryptocurrency scams last year, according to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center.

Scammers have become notorious for scam calls scaring their victims into visiting a bitcoin ATM to deposit and send money to the scammer.

Brielle Blanchard, Interim CEO of the Better Business Bureau of Acadiana, said it happens more often than people realize.

“The Bitcoin machine does look like a regular ATM, but it’s not,” Blanchard said. “The difference is that you can put money in it, but you can’t get the money out like a regular ATM.”

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The scammer calls victims and tells them they’re in trouble and that the only way to resolve the issue is to send them money.

“It could be a phone call or a pop-up on your computer saying that you have a virus on your computer or a phone call saying that your name’s tied to money laundering,” Blanchard said. “You need to withdraw money from the bank immediately and deposit it into the Bitcoin machine. The urgency really scares people and gets them to act immediately.”

Other times it’s through the guise of an investment opportunity.

“But really, you put your money in the machine, and you’re not investing anything,” Blanchard said. “You’re giving your money to the scammers.”

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Blanchard said an elderly victim deposited $50,000 into one of these machines, thinking he was on the phone with his bank.

“The cops even spoke with the scammers on the phone,” Blanchard said. “And the scammers were even trying to get the cops to believe that they were legitimate people as well.”

Ultimately, law enforcement was able to stop him from depositing any more money into the machine, but he was unable to get back any money he deposited.

“If they’re pushing you to give them money that fast, more than likely it’s a scam,” Blanchard said.

Here’s how to avoid these Bitcoin ATM scams:

Guard your wallet. If you buy cryptocurrency, the security of your wallet is important. If you lose the key, the funds are gone permanently.
Look carefully at email and website addresses. Phishing scams often try to trick people into logging into their accounts and then capture their credentials. Those then can be used to stela money.
Don’t pay for products with cryptocurrency. Be careful if someone asks you to pay with Bitcoin or another cryptocurrency.
Don’t believe promises of guaranteed returns. No one can guarantee how an investment will perform.

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