Darien Resident Loses Over $26,000 In Bitcoin Scam: Police

DARIEN, CT — A Darien resident was scammed out of more than $26,000 in a computer scam that involved purchasing Bitcoin.

In a news release, Police Sgt. Dan Skoumbros said a Hollow Tree Ridge Road resident told officers he was using the Internet on Jan. 25 when he noticed a pop up that claimed his computer had been hacked.

After clicking the link, an operator told the resident other websites were accessing his bank account and had secured money from it. The operator then transferred the resident to a person claiming to be with the FBI, Skoumbros said.

The "FBI" representative sent the resident a photo ID and credentials, then transferred him to a person claiming to be with the U.S. Department of the Treasury, who told the resident he needed to set up an encrypted bank account and purchase Bitcoin, Skoumbros said. The suspect then sent the resident a QR code associated with a Bitcoin wallet.

According to Skoumbros, the resident went to a Bitcoin machine in Norwalk and made three ATM transactions totaling $20,300, then made another transaction in Stamford for $6,400. The resident reported the incident to Darien police after becoming suspicious.

Bitcoin transactions are anonymous and the wallet they are sent to cannot be tracked, Skoumbros said.