ORLANDO, Fla. – The U.S. Secret Service Cyber Task Force began a seven-county Central Florida campaign Thursday to post warning signs at 433 identified ATM bitcoin hubs used in schemes across the state.
Federal agents tell News 6 that conmen use scare tactics to convince victims to move their money to the digital accounts and the machines allow complete control once the money is transferred from cash to cryptocurrency.
An Orange County woman recently lost $21,000 when she transferred money to bitcoin accounts.
The victim told News 6 that imposters claiming to be with Bank America provided QR codes to transfer.
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U.S. Secret Service Special Agent-in-charge Caroline O’Brien-Buster said the financial fallout in cryptocurrency scams has been overwhelming, with some victims pumping their life savings into bitcoin accounts set up by thieves.
According to the Federal Trade Commission, Americans reported losses of more than $1 billion to cryptocurrency and bitcoin schemes between January and September of this year.
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The warning signs will posted on store windows and next to cryptocurrency ATMs.
“The fliers we’re putting up focus on six of our highest types of (crypto) fraud‚” Obrien-Buster told News 6. “We’re hoping that by putting these up at the bitcoin ATMs or the windows at these different establishments, that a victim who’s fallen for one of these will think twice about putting their money into a bitcoin ATM.”
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Task force members from the Secret Service Orlando office, Seminole County Sheriff’s Office as well as officers from Lake Mary and Casselberry police departments delivered warning posters to roughly 70 ATM locations identified as bitcoin hubs in Seminole county.
The U.S. Secret Service has already run similar door-to-door poster campaigns at businesses in Washington D.C. and Tennessee with great success.
News 6 accompanied task force members and found merchants were completely cooperative, allowing agents to display the warning posters without reservation.
Special Agent Matthew Roberts said the posters make clear “what could happen.”
“Merchants have been very cooperative they want to work with law enforcement,” Roberts told News 6. “They understand the scams that have been going on but sometimes they don’t and we have to explain to them the machines have some good purposes but they can also be used in a scam.”
O’Brien-Buster said the cyber task force will post warning signs at the remaining identified ATM bitcoin locations over the next few months.
Those counties include Citrus, Lake, Sumter, Orange, Osceola and Brevard.
If you have been duped in a cryptocurrency ATM scheme, call the Secret Service Orlando office at 407-648-6333.
Or you can email makeendsmeet@wkmg.com or text the words “make ends meet” along with your name and issue to 407-676-7428.
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