Most people know that scams aren’t unusual over the telephone or internet these days, but apparently many still aren’t savvy enough to avoid falling victim to the increasingly shrewd criminals plying their trade. Manitowoc Police are reporting a dramatic increase in scamming there, and they detailed the lengths some plans go to in order to fool people out of their money.
First, they say that some plans take time to develop, maybe weeks or even months, such as in a romance scam. Once a scammer connects, they are persistent, with some trying to groom their victim with romance – and requests for just a little money. But that doesn’t last, with increasingly larger numbers becoming involved. And if that doesn’t work, they may try to get a photo and use that to blackmail the victim.
Other scams are better known, such as impersonating officials seeking to settle a warrant or missed court date. Those nearly always request payment via gift cards, cryptocurrency, or other electronic forms of payment. This type of scammer sometimes becomes aggressive and threatening, demanding payment methods that, if followed, make it difficult if not impossible to trace.
A novel tactic noted for the first time is the increase in crypto “ATMs” such as Coinstar, RockItCoin, Bitstop, Bitcoin Depot and the like showing up in the city. The machines are sometimes used legitimately, but will never be used by government entities for fines and fee payment. Such payments also typically come with large transaction fees and are almost always a scam.
Manitowoc Police recommend people exercise caution, refrain from any currency transfer to unknown sources, and to call them if you have concerns.
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