Denver Police Warn of Scams Involving Cryptocurrency ATMs
The Denver Police Department has seen a recent trend involving scammers and cryptocurrency ATMs that is a red flag for avoiding scams. The patterns, stories and methods used by scammers remain fairly consistent, but the way they receive and steal victims’ money continues to change. The recent trend in scams involves the scammer calling the victim and claiming they have an outstanding warrant and need to pay a stated dollar amount in order to get the warrant cleared, but instead of telling the victim to do a wire transfer of funds or to purchase and deliver gift cards/pre-paid debit cards, the scammers are now asking victims to pay utilizing cryptocurrency ATMs.
In a recent example in Denver, the victim explained that she got a call from the suspect who claimed to be a Denver Police officer. The suspect alleged that the victim missed court the previous day and now had a warrant for her arrest. The suspect then told the victim she needed to pay thousands of dollars for bail or she would be booked into jail for up to 72 hours. She was instructed to go to a nearby laundromat and use the cryptocurrency option on the self-service banking kiosk to deposit the “bail” money. She initially sent the requested amount and was then told by the suspect she would need to send several thousand dollars more. After doing so, she was then told by the suspect that this was inaccurate, and she would need to send more money and that the first deposit would be sent back to her via cashier’s check. In total, the victim lost just under $14,000 before learning that this was a scam.
Important points for everyone to remember regarding these types of scams:
- Law enforcement agencies do not clear warrants or bonds over the phone.
- Warrants are not paid over the phone with gift cards, wire transfers, ATM deposits, prepaid debit cards or cryptocurrency deposits.
- Law enforcement agencies will not call you to tell you that you have a warrant or ask you for money directly.
- If you get a call from someone claiming you are wanted and that you can simply wire transfer funds, make a deposit at an ATM or cryptocurrency kiosk, or buy gift cards or prepaid debit cards and provide them with the redemption codes to clear the warrant, hang up — it’s a scam.
- After hanging up on the caller, report the scam to your local law enforcement agency. In Denver, call (720) 913-2000 and press 2, or file a complaint with The Colorado Attorney General’s Office at https://coag.gov/file-complaint/scams/. Additional tips and resources can also be found on this webpage.
- If anyone suspects they have a Denver warrant, they can call 720-337-0464 to verify.
BEWARE OF HOME IMPROVEMENT SCAMS
With the warmer weather often comes an increase in door to door sales pitches for various home improvement services. From landscaping to roofing, however convincing the offers seem, not all of these salespeople are legitimate. Just this week, your Denver Police Department has received four separate, but possibly related, reports of roofing companies failing to complete work, while collecting thousands of dollars from the victims. In each circumstance, the victims, who are all senior residents, provided the suspects with several payments, only to be left with demolished roofs and unfinished projects.
If you believe you are the victim of this scam, please contact Denver Police, or your local law enforcement agency, to file a report.
If you are looking for contractors to help you tackle those home improvement projects, make sure to verify the roofer’s license and insurance by contacting your local city/municipality building department, or local licensing board. You should also ask for referrals and do as much research on the company as you can. It’s also wise to get multiple offers. And in addition to getting a written contract, make sure to look out for these red flags before signing anything:
• Scammers will often peddle roofing, paving and other repair work door-to-door.
• Scammers often drive new pick-up trucks, often with out-of-state license plates.
• Scammers often prey on the elderly using friendly, but high-pressure tactics.
• Scammers may say they have material left over from a previous job, or insist they did work for you or a neighbor before. • Scammers will ask you to get the required building permits.
• Scammers will often quote bargain prices, but demand much more after the job is complete, if they complete it at all.