Deputies say that as electronic payments become more popular, so are schemes and scams.
May 17, the sheriff’s office spoke with a resident on Woodenshoe Lane, near Peoa, who said they lost $15,000 to a fraudulent cryptocurrency investing platform.
Cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin or Ethereum, are currencies that live online but function like physical dollars. That means they can be invested, but according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, sometimes those investments are fake.
Scammers try to lure victims into depositing more and more money in the form of cryptocurrency because it’s harder to trace. Crypto transactions are pseudonymous, meaning users don’t need to use their real name.
Residents should be cautious when doing any sort of electronic funds transfer, especially if they don’t know the individuals personally and have only met online, Summit County sheriff’s spokesperson Skyler Talbot said.
“Always take every possible precaution and thoroughly research the legitimacy of the person or company involved,” he told KPCW. “If something sounds too good to be true, it likely is.”
Talbot says residents who believe they’ve been scammed should report it to their local law enforcement agency. In Summit County, dispatch will alert the correct agency depending on where the caller lives.
The Peoa scam is under investigation by the sheriff’s office.
