A police department in San Patricio County has recently released warnings to the public of an increase in suspected or attempted cyber or cell phone crimes against its residents.
The Aransas Pass Police Department has released a warning to the community regarding a rise in the prevalence and attempt of cryptocurrency scams amidst what the department said is an increased presence from suspected thieves.
According to the department, there are tips the community can remember and watch out for so they don’t fall victim to the scams.
“Cryptocurrency scams are on the rise (again), and they’re getting more convincing every day,” the APPD said.
According to the department, there are several ways in which scammers attempt to swindle money from taxpayers and citizens. Scammers will use social media or online dating apps/sites and promise users “lots of money” with zero risk with investment scams, the department said, as well as the ruse of impersonating a business such as Amazon or a government, law enforcement, or utilities agency.
There are also blackmail scams rising, the department said, where scammers will send emails or mail via the U.S. Postal Service saying they have embarrassing or compromising photos, videos, or personal information about citizens and threaten to make it public if they don’t pay
It does not appear as though it is just San Patricio County or Aransas Pass residents experiencing an uptick. This past April, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) cyber crime complaint center released its annual report detailing cyber crime reports and scams. According to the report, Texas ranked second in the United States in terms of the sheer number of complaints received.
According to the FBI, the annual report looked at nearly 900,000 combined reports of confirmed or suspected cyber crimes reported throughout the U.S. There was more than $16.6 billion in losses reported, according to the report, including more than $1.3 billion in losses from Texans.
To report suspected cryptocurrency scams, fraud, and other suspicious activity involving cryptocurrency, citizens have multiple options. They can report it to:
A local law enforcement agency
The FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov
Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) at CFTC.gov/complaint
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) at sec.gov/tcr
Internet Crime Complaint Center (FBI IC3) at ic3.gov/Home/FileComplaint
The cryptocurrency exchange company they used to send the money
English (US) ·