Donna Police Department warns residents of cryptocurrency scams after local victim loses $90k
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The Donna Police Department is warning residents about a rise in cryptocurrency scams targeting older adults and local business employees.
Scammers are calling, texting, and emailing people while pretending to be working with police, government agencies, or tech support. They claim there is a warrant for the person's arrest that can only be settled by paying at a Bitcoin machine, many of which are located inside gas stations.
A local victim already lost $90,000 in one of these scams, police said.
Donna police detective Orlando Vera said victims can't get their money back once it's sent through a Bitcoin machine.
"It's not a centralized system like a bank. It's not like you're going to be able to contact anybody through a bank and tell them I need this charge or this money reversed," Vera said. "It's decentralized. Once that money is put in, you're never going to get your money back."
Anyone who receives one of these calls should not follow the instructions. Local police ask that people file a report, which then gets forwarded to the FBI.
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