CLEVELAND — After the owner of a Westlake convenience store helped thwart an alleged attempted cryptocurrency con involving an elderly near-victim, police are advising the public on warning signs to avoid scams.
Westlake police say on Thursday, April 4, a convenience store owner became concerned after seeing an "older gentleman" depositing large amounts of cash into a cryptocurrency ATM in the store. Police say the man was being instructed on what to do by someone over the phone.
"Knowing that these were signs that a scam was underway, WPD detectives responded to attempt to stop the theft," the WPD said in a news release. "Luckily the officers were able to stop the crypto-currency transaction before it was finalized and funds passed to the perpetrators."
According to police, the man had been targeted with a pop-up on his home computer saying that his computer had been "compromised."
Police said the scammers tried to scare the man into transferring the funds by falsely telling him that criminals had traded in child porn on his computer and that he would be implicated if he did not pay the scammers to "clean up" the device.
The WPD is highlighting the attempted scam to caution the public to talk to older relatives and neighbors about how to spot a scam, noting that seniors are often the targeted population of fraudulent activity.
"Do not call phone numbers on unexpected pop-ups on computers, or unexpected emails, texts or phone calls," the WPD says. "If someone is instructing you to buy gift cards to pay for debts, warrants or computer support it is a scam. If someone instructs you to keep them on the phone when you go to the bank to withdraw cash or when depositing funds in a Crypto-ATM, IT IS A SCAM!"