Hoover police investigating alleged scam involving Bitcoin machine

1 year ago 35

The Hoover Police Department wants to alert residents of a potential scam targeting older folks.The police department said the scam works by using a pop-up ad on a computer, telling the victim there's a problem with an account and to call a phone number.Once the victim calls that number, the person on the other end pretends to be with a financial institution and instructs the victim to withdraw thousands of dollars in cash to fix the account problem.The victim is then told to insert that cash into a Bitcoin machine located at a local business.Two such cases like this have appeared in Hoover, and one victim was asked to withdraw $20,000, said the HPD.There are things you can do to be aware of scams:keep a frequent check on your accountsa scam usually involves converting cash into another form, cryptocurrency or gift cardsscam suspects speak urgently and don't want you to contact the police or anyone elselegitimate businesses, like a bank, will not ask for personal information over the phoneif it seems suspicious, hang up and contact law enforcement

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. —

The Hoover Police Department wants to alert residents of a potential scam targeting older folks.

The police department said the scam works by using a pop-up ad on a computer, telling the victim there's a problem with an account and to call a phone number.

Once the victim calls that number, the person on the other end pretends to be with a financial institution and instructs the victim to withdraw thousands of dollars in cash to fix the account problem.

The victim is then told to insert that cash into a Bitcoin machine located at a local business.

Two such cases like this have appeared in Hoover, and one victim was asked to withdraw $20,000, said the HPD.

There are things you can do to be aware of scams:

keep a frequent check on your accounts
a scam usually involves converting cash into another form, cryptocurrency or gift cards
scam suspects speak urgently and don't want you to contact the police or anyone else
legitimate businesses, like a bank, will not ask for personal information over the phone
if it seems suspicious, hang up and contact law enforcement

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