On June 16, a family living in the county reported to the police about scammers. An unknown person called the family on behalf of local authorities and reported unpaid fines of $25,000. The unknown person demanded immediate payment of the debt and threatened with a lawsuit, then recommended making the payment to a Bitcoin wallet address through a local cryptocurrency machine.
Sheriff Howard obtained a warrant from the prosecutor and opened the cryptocurrency machine with a grinding machine, then handed the seized cash over to the state prosecutor's office. The money must remain under arrest until the end of the investigation.
“When thieves, scoundrels, and fraudsters try to exploit the residents of Jasper County for their criminal purposes, we will act swiftly and use all available resources to protect our fellow citizens and their property at all costs,” said the sheriff.
According to the FBI, the losses suffered by Americans from cryptocurrency fraud in the last year exceeded $9.3 billion. Part of the losses were attributed to schemes involving cryptocurrency machines. In three states, North Dakota, California, and Nebraska, local authorities are imposing restrictions on the installation of cryptocurrency machines and daily transaction limits.
Previously, a 70-year-old pensioner from the Canadian province of British Columbia lost about $160,000 as a result of a long-term scheme involving fake fund transfers into cryptocurrency through cryptocurrency machines.