Tips for Avoiding Impersonation & Cryptocurrency Scams
Our Financial Crimes Detail would like to make you aware of recent phone and internet scams in an effort to keep our community members informed. These scams include:
Avoid Becoming a Victim:
- Impersonation scams where the caller claims to be a government worker such as a police officer, IRS agent or other official sounding position. Often times these scammers will spoof the phone numbers of government agencies and even use the names of real government employees. The suspect claims the victim is under investigation, has an outstanding arrest warrant or owes back taxes and offer to resolve the issue by having the victim pay a bail or fine.
- Another type of scam is cryptocurrency investment scams. The scammer usually reaches out to the victim through a social media platform such as Facebook, dating websites, or other online platforms such as LinkedIn. After building trust with the victim, the scammer will propose an investment opportunity involving cryptocurrency and encourage the victim to open a legitimate account with a trading platform. The victim is then instructed to send the cryptocurrency to a fake website created by the suspect that shows exorbitant financial gains. The victim is actually sending the cryptocurrency to a wallet controlled by the suspect and the victim is unable to retrieve their money. Often times the victim is revictimized when they are instructed to pay a tax or fine to retrieve their money.
Reporting Fraud:
Phone scams should be reported to the Federal Trade Commission at www.ftc.gov. Scams over the internet should be reported to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov. Both websites have additional resources on scams and identity theft.
Long Beach Police Department
Call Police Dispatch at (562) 435-6711 to report suspicious activity or dial 9-1-1 for emergencies.
