DENVER — Officers with the Denver Police Department are warning residents about a recent scam in which the suspects impersonate law enforcement officers to have victims pay them using cryptocurrency ATMs.
“The recent trend in scams involves the scammer calling the victim and claiming they have an outstanding warrant and need to pay a stated dollar amount in order to get the warrant cleared,” a news release from DPD states.
Instead of asking for a wire transfer or for pre-paid debit cards or gift cards, scammers are now asking residents to go to their nearest cryptocurrency ATM to pay the amount that way.
Police said a recent incident involving a victim getting a call from someone who claimed to be a DPD officer, alleging the victim had missed court the previous day and now had a warrant for her arrest. The suspect then told the victim to pay thousands of dollars for bail or she would be booked into jail for up to 72 hours.
The victim then told police the suspect instructed her to pay thousands of dollars more and to deposit that money into a self-service cryptocurrency kiosk. In all, the victim lost just under $14,000 before realizing she had been scammed.
Police would like to remind everyone that law enforcement agencies do not clear warrants or bonds over the phone; warrants are not paid over the phone with gift cards, wire transfers, ATM deposits, prepaid debit cards or cryptocurrency deposits; and that law enforcement agencies will not call you to tell you that you have a warrant or ask you for money directly.
If you get a call from someone claiming you are wanted and that a wire transfer or a ATM deposit will clear your warrant, hang up immediately, police said.
After hanging up, potential victims are asked to report the scam to your local police department. In Denver, call (720) 913-2000 and press 2, or file a complaint with The Colorado Attorney General's Office at https://coag.gov/file-complaint/scams/.
If anyone suspects they have a Denver warrant, they can call 720-337-0464 to verify.
