Beware pop-up, email scams involving Bitcoin: Decatur Police

DECATUR, Ill. (WCIA) — The Decatur Police Department is warning the community of a new scam popping up on computer screens and appearing in email inboxes.

Department officials said the scam involves messages saying that one’s computer or bank account has been compromised and giving a phone number to call. Once on the phone, scammers will then direct victims to download a program onto their computer that allows them to remotely take over the computer or otherwise see what the victim pulls up on their screen, like login information for a bank account.

The scammer then tells the victim that they can resolve the computer issue, but the victim first needs to move cash into a Bitcoin ATM.

All of this is a scam, officials said. Anyone who receives a popup or an email like this is asked to contact their financial institution and the police immediately.

They added that only scammers will tell people to act fast or they will lose out on something, ask for passwords and other personal information, request payment in cryptocurrency and make promises of high return on investments. Officials advised people to take their time before acting and to hang up if anyone demands them to send money through cryptocurrency.

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