Minersville Police are issuing a warning to all Schuylkill County residents of an ongoing online scam involving a Bitcoin ATM in the area.
Chief Jeffrey Bowers says two Schuylkill County residents have already been billed out of $34,000 in this scam. And the scammers nearly got more.
Bowers says the scam begins with a glaring warning when someone logs on to their web browser. They see what is purported to be a “Microsoft warning” that alerts users to ch*** por*****phy on their computer.
The scam message says the user has been hacked and that their device contains this illegal material.
A phone number is provided to users. And if they call that number, someone on the other line tells them the material can be deleted but first, the person needs to go deposit large sums of money into the Athena Bitcoin ATM located at the Minersville General Store located at Second and North streets in the borough.
Bowers says the scammer warns their mark to stay on the phone with them the entire time while they’re depositing money into this Bitcoin ATM. Once the transaction is completed, the scammer gains access to the Bitcoin purchased and the victim loses their money and never gets their cryptocurrency.
So far, two Schuylkill County residents have been targeted and fell for the scam, one person in St. Clair and another in Blythe Twp.
The first incident happened last month and resulted in a $10,000 loss for the victim. In the most recent instance of this scam being pulled off here, the victim lost $24,000 and nearly got taken for $13,000 more before they alerted police.
Bowers believes whoever is pulling off this scam knows where Athena Bitcoin machines are located and then targets people nearby.
He has since seized the cash drawer from the Bitcoin ATM, which did contain the $24,000, and the machine has been taped off as evidence, so it can’t be used.
Bowers adds that it’s now up to the courts to decide if the victims will be able to get back the money they lost in this scam. He says the Pennsylvania Attorney General is currently investigating similar incidents, too.
On its website, Athena Bitcoin warns the public of scams often perpetrated that utilize its machines. The “tech support scam” is one of the most used scams known to the company.
Athena Bitcoin warns anyone never to call a phone number that randomly pops up on their screens purported to be from a major tech company.
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