Police in Schuylkill County are investigating a reported theft involving an email scam and Bitcoin.
According to State Police-Schuylkill Haven, the theft was reported to them on Tuesday afternoon. At that time, a Barry Township resident said he was duped into giving an unknown person $7,200 in Bitcoin through an email scam.
Police are urging the public to be suspicious of emails trying to get cryptocurrency from you or when using Bitcoin ATMs.
Although details on this particular investigation haven’t been revealed, an email Bitcoin scam gained national attention back in September. Several news outlets reported that an email Bitcoin scam currently being implemented has scammers using public images of marks and extorting them into turning over Bitcoin to avoid being exposed.
According to the Oregon Dept. of Justice, one such email claims “I’ve got video of you” in order to get Bitcoin from their marks.
State Police here say they’re continuing to investigate the reported Bitcoin theft in Barry Township.