A Keystone, Colorado, resident lost over $6,000 in Bitcoin to a sophisticated scam last week after fraudsters posed as law enforcement officers.
The scammers threatened arrest for missing jury duty, convincing the victim to send Bitcoin under the pretense of avoiding a warrant.
“A deputy will never call to inform someone of an arrest warrant or request payment in Bitcoin, gift cards, or wire transfers to clear it,” the sheriff’s office stated in an incident report.
Another Transaction Worth $4,000 in Bitcoin Invertedin Colorado
An additional $4,000 transaction was underway before deputies intervened, but the perpetrators had already accessed personal information during their initial contact.
Similar scams are surfacing statewide, according to call logs.
In one case, a Denver woman reportedly lost nearly $5,000 in Bitcoin after scammers impersonating Denver Police officers convinced her she had missed jury duty.
Following the scammers’ instructions, she sent funds through a Bitcoin ATM. When she later contacted Denver Police to verify, she discovered she had been defrauded.
Authorities reported it’s unlikely her funds will be recovered, though her bank has been notified.
The incident mirrors another recent attempt in Keystone where bank staff stopped a resident from transferring $8,000 in crypto after they received similar calls.
Scammers are increasingly using caller ID spoofing to make it appear their calls are coming from official law enforcement agencies.
Crypto fraud has surged across Colorado.
State investigators documented over 1,300 crypto-related scams in 2023, resulting in losses exceeding $81 million.
Colorado now ranks 15th nationally for crypto crimes, according to state data.
In response to rising crypto scams, FBI Denver issued a public warning earlier this year highlighting cases where fraudsters targeted religious communities.
In one incident, a pastor and his wife allegedly misappropriated around $3.2 million in crypto, promoting a token called INDXcoin to their Christian community.
“These scammers can be aggressive and persuasive,” the Sheriff’s Office cautioned, adding that the irreversible nature of crypto transactions makes it particularly attractive to fraudsters. Once transferred, funds are difficult to trace or recover.
DHS Investigators Prevent Hundreds of Ransomware Attacks
As reported, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has disrupted hundreds of crypto scam incidents, reclaiming billions in extorted cryptocurrency since 2021.
DHS investigators have intercepted 537 ransomware attacks before they could cause widespread damage.
The effort, led by the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Cyber Crimes Center, has proven particularly vital for the protection of U.S. government agencies, which have been the primary targets of these cyber threats.
Meanwhile, phishing attacks remain a major issue for crypto users, resulting in substantial losses.
In September alone, more than 10,000 individuals lost over $46 million to such scams, as reported by Scam Sniffer, a Web3 anti-scam platform.
The platform revealed that 10,805 victims suffered losses amounting to $46.7 million from various crypto phishing scams.
In the third quarter of 2024, over $127 million in crypto assets were stolen, with Ether wallets being the prime targets in these phishing attacks.
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