Scammers running an elaborate Bitcoin scheme bilked a Fairfield County resident out of more than $25,000 after allegedly hacking his computer, police said.
Officers from the Darien Police Department recently met with a Hollow Tree Ridge Road resident regarding a possible computer scam.
The victim told officers he was using the Internet when he noticed a pop-up that alleged his computer had been hacked, prompting him to click the link, at which point an operator advised that other sites were accessing his bank account and had secured money from it.
It is alleged that the operator then claimed to transfer the Darien resident to the FBI, at which point a person claiming to be with the agency sent a photo ID and credentials to the victim, transferring to a third fraudster who claimed to be from the US Treasury department.
Police said that the victim was instructed to set up an encrypted bank account and would need to purchase Bitcoin. The suspect then sent the victim a QR code associated with a Bitcoin Wallet.
The victim proceeded to go to a Norwalk Bitcoin machine and made three ATM transactions for a total of $20,300. Another Bitcoin transaction was also made in Stamford for an additional $6,400.
Once he became suspicious, the victim came to police headquarters to report the situation, which could not be tracked due to Bitcoin transactions being anonymous.
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