Ohio’s New Fraud Unit Recovers $130,000 Stolen in Cryptocurrency Scam
Date: 2024-10-09 Author: Oliver Abernathy Categories: IN WORLD
Ohio’s newly created Wire Fraud Unit has recovered $130,000 stolen from a 75-year-old woman in the Columbus suburb of Worthington. The case marks the first successful operation for the new unit, which was created to assist local law enforcement agencies in investigating financial cybercrimes.
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, who created the unit, highlighted the growing risks of cryptocurrency fraud and the difficulty of recovering stolen funds in a press release on October 8. He said, “Recovering stolen electronic funds is a complex task, akin to hunting for ghosts.”
Worthington police called in the Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) after an elderly woman was tricked into depositing money into a Bitcoin ATM following a false notification on her computer. Although the total amount of money lost was $280,000, BCI agents were able to track down and freeze $130,000 using “specialized investigative tools.”
“The complexities of cryptocurrency scams, which involve multiple and rapid movements of funds once they reach the scammers, make full recovery extremely difficult.”
Ohio Attorney General’s Office
While some of the stolen funds have been recovered, the perpetrators remain unidentified, highlighting the difficulty of investigating such cases due to the speed of asset transfers and the anonymity of the participants in cryptocurrency schemes.
Worthington Police Chief Eric Grill stressed the importance of vigilance and quick response in these cases, noting, “Most financial transactions are conducted electronically, creating opportunities for online criminals and scammers to commit crimes.” As previously reported on crypto.news, cryptocurrency scams continue to gain momentum. In September, about $46.7 million was stolen from more than 10,000 victims, down from $63 million in August.
