South Carolina: Cryptocurrency scams on the rise in Upstate – WYFF4 Greenville

Cryptocurrency scams are rising at an alarming rate, according to Anderson County Sheriff's Office Detective Nezar Hamze.Right now, ACSO is investigating at least 15 cases involving cryptocurrency scams, more than double the amount of these types of cases throughout the full year of 2023 according to Hamze.Essentially, Hamze said these sophisticated digital currency scams start in a few different forms sometimes beginning via phone call or pop-up message on a computer.The end goal for a scammer is to have the person withdraw physical money from their bank accounts and deposit it into a Bitcoin machine or other type of cryptocurrency machine that acts as an ATM."It's just that fast, as soon as you hit enter the money is gone," Hamze said. "You can't even get it back from the ATM, you know, because when you log in it actually warns you don't fall victim to a scam. Please make sure that you're doing you know, you're doing legitimate business."Hamze said the scammers are generally from other countries and pose as government agencies looking to execute warrants or threaten some sort of legal action or arrests if money isn't transferred as soon as possible. "These scammers are very professional," Hamze said. "Theyre extremely talented. Theyll have you believing youre talking to your mother. Thats how talented and how much skills they have. So, when they call you, because they spoof the number, it looks legit. People call and say, 'Hey, we're the IRS, we've got a warrant for your arrest. We're going to send the U.S. Marshals,' or a variant of that. We have, you know, a warrant for your arrest because you cheated on your taxes, whatever it is."Hamze said scammers have also been known to claim an individual has won a sweepstakes of some sort and need to prepay the taxes on the money before being able to claim the full prize.Scammers will find ways to make contact with people on their computers."(They'll use) a pop-up. Itll come up and say, 'hey your account information has been hacked or you have a virus on your computer. You need to go withdraw your bank account and convert it to crypto so its secure,'" Hamze said. Thats what they say. If you see that, don't engage and power your computer off right away. If you're on the phone with someone who is asking for money, hang up right away."Hamze said if you believe someone is trying to scam you, or if you've become a victim of these scams, call the non-emergency line for your local police or sheriff's office.

Cryptocurrency scams are rising at an alarming rate, according to Anderson County Sheriff's Office Detective Nezar Hamze.

Right now, ACSO is investigating at least 15 cases involving cryptocurrency scams, more than double the amount of these types of cases throughout the full year of 2023 according to Hamze.

Essentially, Hamze said these sophisticated digital currency scams start in a few different forms sometimes beginning via phone call or pop-up message on a computer.

The end goal for a scammer is to have the person withdraw physical money from their bank accounts and deposit it into a Bitcoin machine or other type of cryptocurrency machine that acts as an ATM.

"It's just that fast, as soon as you hit enter the money is gone," Hamze said. "You can't even get it back from the ATM, you know, because when you log in it actually warns you don't fall victim to a scam. Please make sure that you're doing you know, you're doing legitimate business."

Hamze said the scammers are generally from other countries and pose as government agencies looking to execute warrants or threaten some sort of legal action or arrests if money isn't transferred as soon as possible.

"These scammers are very professional," Hamze said. "Theyre extremely talented. Theyll have you believing youre talking to your mother. Thats how talented and how much skills they have. So, when they call you, because they spoof the number, it looks legit. People call and say, 'Hey, we're the IRS, we've got a warrant for your arrest. We're going to send the U.S. Marshals,' or a variant of that. We have, you know, a warrant for your arrest because you cheated on your taxes, whatever it is."

Hamze said scammers have also been known to claim an individual has won a sweepstakes of some sort and need to prepay the taxes on the money before being able to claim the full prize.

Scammers will find ways to make contact with people on their computers.

"(They'll use) a pop-up. Itll come up and say, 'hey your account information has been hacked or you have a virus on your computer. You need to go withdraw your bank account and convert it to crypto so its secure,'" Hamze said. Thats what they say. If you see that, don't engage and power your computer off right away. If you're on the phone with someone who is asking for money, hang up right away."

Hamze said if you believe someone is trying to scam you, or if you've become a victim of these scams, call the non-emergency line for your local police or sheriff's office.

Continue reading here:
South Carolina: Cryptocurrency scams on the rise in Upstate - WYFF4 Greenville