Positive Outcome for Bitcoin Scam Victim

WAUTOMA, Wis. (WAUH) – The Waushara County Sheriff’s Office was able to resolve an incident in which a resident was scammed out of $11,000 in a variation of the Microsoft scam.

The Sheriff’s Office received a fraud complaint in March. The victim had received a pop up on their computer from “Microsoft” saying there was illegal activity on their computer.

They were directed to take $6,000 in cash to a Bitcoin ATM and send it to a QR code. After that they received a call saying they were to take an additional $5,000 in cash to a Bitcoin ATM and send it to a QR code. The victim’s bank noticed the suspicious activity and told the victim not to send any more money and the bank notified the Sheriff’s Office.

An investigation determined the scammer was from New Zealand and had scammed several people around the U.S. The Sheriff’s Office learned the money was still in a money exchange account and got the account frozen.

They were able to secure the Bitcoin amount the victim had sent to the scammer. The victims in the case were able to recover all of their money. The Waushara County Sheriff’s Office was assisted in the investigation by the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions.