Pittsburgh police issue warning after victims lose thousands of dollars in Bitcoin scam

Pittsburgh police have issued a warning to the public about local bitcoin scams that have tricked at least two people into handing over thousands of dollars.

In one instance, police say a 70-year-old woman received an alert that her computer had been hacked. She spoke with someone who she believed was Apple support and was then transferred to another person, who she was told was a PNC fraud specialist. The woman was convinced to withdraw $22,000 to buy Bitcoin at a convenience store in the city.

In another reported case, a 72-year-old woman was alerted on her iPad to call a phone number provided. She, too, spoke with someone she thought was an Apple customer service representative. Her call was transferred twice, and she was ultimately told her account was hacked and used for child pornography. The woman then withdrew $7,000 and purchased bitcoin, also at a local convenience store.

“They obviously preyed on people’s fears, fear that they owe money, fear that their computer has been hacked,” says Pittsburgh Bureau of Public Safety Public Information Officer, Cara Cruz. “Gave them the address of this convenience store and deposit the money in bitcoin. It’s very unfortunate.”

These reports in the city of Pittsburgh come amid similar reports in surrounding areas. For North Huntingdon police, a person was scammed into putting $50,000 into a Bitcoin ATM. Luckily, police were able to retrieve some of the money, which does not always happen, Det. Sgt. Mark Hamilton said. “We were able to freeze the account, get several different search warrants to prove how the money was transferred to the several different bitcoin addresses, and then subsequently do a seizure warrant to another country and get about $41,000 of the $50,000 back,” he said.

Most of the time, once the money is gone, it is gone — unless you act quickly and contact your local police department.

University of Pittsburgh English Chair Gayle Rogers says scammers are using cryptocurrency because their true identity can be hidden, “they can use a pseudonym, or handle, they can use their pet’s name or whatever,” he says. “It’s almost like when you hand the money over to the scammers, the money vanishes.”

Officers say the scammers are mostly targeting older adults, but anyone can be a victim. Pittsburgh police are investigating the two most recent incidents. Anyone who believes they may have been victimized is asked to call 911.

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