WHEAT RIDGE, Colo. — The Wheat Ridge Police Department is warning of a cryptocurrency scam that's making its way through the community.
Investigators say several people in Wheat Ridge have gotten a variation of the same type of scam email.
"I know that calling [phone number] or visiting [home address] would be a convenient way to have a chat with you if you don't cooperate. Don't try to hide from this. You've no idea what I'm capable of in [local city]," the email states. It even includes a photo of the outside of the receiver's address.
Police warn it's strategic for the scammer to show off how much information they have on you right off the bat.
"Basically intimidate the victim or the recipient of that email to say, 'Hey, I know a lot about you.' And seeing that personal information come in immediately gets the mind going like, 'Oh shoot, they got me,' and that's exactly what the scammer wants you to believe," said Alex Rose, public information officer with the Wheat Ridge Police Department.
The emails go on to claim that the scammer installed malware on the victim's computer to control the camera and recorded inappropriate videos of the victim. The email even says, "Honestly, those online tips about covering your camera aren't as useless as they seem. Don't dwell on it. Take it as a little lesson and keep your guard up in the future."
The scammer threatens to send the videos to everyone in the victim's contact list — which has also been hacked — if the victim does not pay up using a Bitcoin QR code to send crypocurrency.
The entire thing is a made up scam.
"It's the hallmark of a lot of scams that we see. The scammer is essentially fabricating urgency and trying to get that person to bite and take the bait and pay them that money within the day. Especially cryptocurrency, that's definitely a red flag," said Rose.
In some cases, the addresses used were outdated, and the photos of the outside of homes are actually just Google Maps street view images.
In the last few weeks, Wheat Ridge police have collected several reports of people receiving emails like the one below:
Fortunately none of the people who reported receiving the email fell victim to the scam. Wheat Ridge PD said it's important for people to report scams that they see, regardless of if they fall for them or not.
"We just can't solve crimes that we're not aware of. When it comes to these kind of scams, it's incredibly tough to track down whoever is responsible for this or whoever is sending it out, but what we can do is at least let the community know about it," said Rose.
Rose hopes part of raising community awareness can be done at the personal level, too.
"Have a conversation with vulnerable people in your circle. Talk to your grandparents about scams, talk to your parents about scams, or maybe it's your neighbor. Basically develop a game plan so that if they receive one of these calls, have them call you and reach out and explain what's going on, so that you can say, 'Hey, you know what, I think this is a red flag," he said.
Americans are losing a record amount of money to cryptocurrency scams. According to a new report released this week from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, more than $5.5 billion was lost to scammers last year. Colorado ranked 15th worst in the nation, with more than 1,300 reports of fraud, costing Coloradans more than $81 million total in 2023.
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