TULSA, Okla. — The holidays may come with pressure to give fancy gifts or look like a big spender.
The FBI cautions cryptocurrency crooks are eager to pounce on your wallet. Con artists adore cryptocurrency because it is difficult for victims to recover stolen funds.
Most people have heard about cryptocurrency, but not as many know how it works or that it is not backed by banks or federal deposit insurance.
“I mean the bad guys all want cryptocurrency because it’s not traceable, they love that,” cyber security expert Bill Sieglein.
It is also unregulated, and transfers are instantaneous. Those qualities make transactions easier to evade law enforcement according to FBI Special Agent, Keith Custer.
“Once the transaction is completed, it’s irreversible and it’s much more difficult for us to assist a victim in recovering funds,” Custer said.
It has also caused an explosion in cryptocurrency crime. The Federal Trade Commission says in 2018, victims of cryptocurrency crimes lost a total of $12 million. In just the first quarter of 2022 reported losses hit $329 million.
Cryptocurrency schemes take many forms such as someone posing as your utility company threatening to cut off your power or water unless you immediately pay an alleged overdue bill with cryptocurrency.
It happened to Natasha Clendenin-Bey. The phony utility worker called claiming the power would be cut off to her business if she didn’t pay immediately at the nearest Coin-me kiosk.
She said as she went to that…
