WESTLAKE, Ohio — The Westlake Police Department is sounding the alarm and alerting residents to a rise in Cryptocurrency scams impacting residents of all ages in their community.
The Department recently took to Facebook and said, "While WPD continues to post scam warning signs around Westlake crypto ATM's in an effort to educate, we continue to take reports of citizens using the machines after being instructed to do so. If someone is guiding you to pay for computer hacks, warrants, bonds or anything else by buying gift cards or depositing cash in a crypto currency machine.....IT IS A SCAM!!! Talk to your loved ones and neighbors about these frauds - especially the older people we care about. Only education will beat the scare tactics these thieves use."
The department is now posting fliers near several cryptocurrency machines and cryptocurrency ATMs inside of various businesses and convenience stores—warning folks not to fall for these scams.
However, department officials say vulnerable residents keep giving away their hard-earned cash, as the crooks are operating on fear and scare tactics.
Westlake Police provided several body camera videos of incidents where residents are in the middle of getting scammed.
"Ma'am, are you still on the phone? Yes... I am. I talked to the person... Because they're scamming you right now."
The scammer on the other end of the phone instructed the victim to get to a cryptocurrency ATM.
They then instructed the victim to deposit cash into their account on their behalf.
Westlake Police tell News 5 this is traditionally done after the victim is told they're computer has been hacked, they need to pay a bond, or there is a warrant out for their arrest.
Nine times out of 10, police say, it's a threatening situation where the suspect will claim you have a family member in danger who needs cash, or the suspect is straight up trying to blackmail you.
"Now they're telling these people, you know, we just need to put this money in and you're going to get it back eventually and things like that. But if you don't do it, we're going to send the police, we're going to have warrants for your arrest, all these kinds of things. They scare them into actually doing it," Captain Jerry Vogel of the Westlake Police Department said.
In an effort to stop these cryptocurrency scammers, Westlake Police continues to alert residents through social media and police issued flyers near ATMs inside and outside of local stores.
Police say the biggest red flags and what residents need to look out for are the following:
-When someone calls you and instructs you to deposit the cash into a cryptocurrency machine for any situation.
-When you hear cryptocurrency mentioned, hang up immediately.
-Being told to withdraw large sums of cash, between $500 to $20,000 is the traditional asking rate.
-Specifically, being told to deposit cash into a Bitcoin or a cryptocurrency AMT.
"No one's instructing people to pay for bonds, to pay for tax debt, to pay for any of these things. It's not even a thing. But the scammers will make you believe it is," Vogel said.
Vogel is urging residents to call their local police departments and report these scams. The more awareness generated, the better.
In addition, you can further report these issues to the Ohio Attorney General's Office.
That can be done by contacting intel@ohioattorneygeneral.gov.
To contact the Westlake Police Department or find out more information about cryptocurrency scams, click here.
