Ohio AG’s New Fraud Unit Claws Back $130K from Crypto Scam
Hassan, a Cryptonews.com journalist with 6+ years of experience in Web3 journalism, brings deep knowledge across Crypto, Web3 Gaming, NFTs, and Play-to-Earn sectors. His work has appeared in...
Ohio’s newly created Electronic Fraud Investigations unit, established to combat growing cryptocurrency fraud, has achieved its first major success by recovering $130,000 stolen in a crypto scam.
The scam targeted a 75-year-old woman in Worthington, Ohio, and involved sophisticated tactics to trick the victim into depositing money into a Bitcoin ATM.
While the total loss was $280,000, Ohio’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) was able to trace and retrieve nearly half of the stolen funds.
Attorney General Dave Yost highlighted the increasing threat of cryptocurrency scams, which have become more prevalent and damaging to Ohio residents. He said in the press release,
“Criminals are hitting cryptocurrency scams hard, which can have a lasting impact on your bank account and your credit history.”
The scam that triggered the investigation began with a pop-up warning on the victim’s computer, tricking her into depositing $280,000 into a Bitcoin ATM under the false pretense of protecting her funds.
The victim was convinced she needed to act immediately to safeguard her money, a common tactic in such schemes.
The Worthington Police Department quickly sought assistance from Ohio’s new Electronic Fraud Investigations unit when it became clear that cryptocurrency was involved.
The BCI’s unit, leveraging its expertise in blockchain analysis, tracked the movement of the stolen funds through the digital ledger and froze $130,000 worth of cryptocurrency, preventing it from being moved further.
Despite the sophisticated methods employed by the
Read more on cryptonews.com
