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The Wausau Police Department warns of a “disturbing increase” in cryptocurrency scams
WAUSAU, Wis. (WSAW) – Over the years, more and more cryptocurrency ATMs have popped up in local businesses. Scammers have taken advantage of its rise, finding a new and unique way to take money from others.
“It’s harder for government agencies to track him,” says Detective Nicholas Walters of the Wausau Police Department. “Once it is sent to that person, they can take that money and send it dozens of times in a single day. And every time they do that, it gets harder and harder to keep track of that money.”
The Wausau Police Department says scammers work in a variety of ways. This includes pretending to be a grandchild in need, a bank notifying you that your account has been compromised, or that your computer has been hacked. If cryptocurrencies are mentioned in these scenarios, that’s when you hang up the phone.
“No government agency, no company, no lawyer, no one is going to tell you to pay them in cryptocurrency,” Walters says. “They’ll want cash, checks or something.”
A recent scam incident occurred at the local “Lil Devil’s Glass” dispensary in Wausau. Employee Bryan Wick tried to intervene and help.
“They had no idea they were doing it,” Wick says. “They kept pushing hundreds, I told them it looked like something was going on, like a scam. They didn’t really want to listen, they just avoided me.
But his precautionary requests were ignored.
“It broke my heart, because I already tried to do what I could,” Wick says. “I mean, all I could do was just tell them not to do it.”
Detective Walters says thousands of dollars were stolen, money that may never return.
“Our success rate in getting money returned to our victims is very, very low,” Walters says. “It makes for a really frustrating experience. It’s bad news for everyone.”
The police department also encourages people when in doubt to always verify the scam independently and report any suspicious activity. If you receive a call or are the victim of a scam, the department encourages you to report it IC3.gov, reportfraud.ftc.govor local law enforcement.
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