The Washoe County Sheriff's Office is investigating a case of fraud in Lemmon Valley.
On Thursday, August 24th, deputies responded to the report, finding a victim who had been contacted by phone and defrauded out of $15,000 which was deposited into a bitcoin ATM.
The victim had been told that their bank account was linked to on-line criminal activity and that in order to stop the crimes from happening they needed to withdraw the money from their account and deposit it in a cryptocurrency account.
This same scam has accounted for more than $500,000 in losses to Washoe County residents this year alone, according to a post on the WCSO Facebook page.
Upon learning of the fraud, WCSO detectives responded to the bitcoin ATM. When learning the victim's money was still inside the machine, they got a search warrant for the money and seized it in order to return it to the victim.
The Sheriff's Office is reminding citizens that on-line scam and fraud schemes are becoming more sophisticated. People attempting fraud may contact you already knowing your name and address. They may even have banking information.
Perpetrators may come off as threatening, even including threats of jail if the victim doesn't comply and give up their money.
If you or someone you know is the victim of fraud, you are advised to contact authorities and make a report.
The chances of recovering defrauded money drops significantly the longer a victim waits to inform authorities.
