U.S. Attorney and FBI warn of nationwide cryptocurrency scam

According to an email from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, people targeted by the scammers receive phone calls or forged court documents telling the person they are being investigated for Payroll Protection Program fraud and are subjects of arrest warrants.

The documents claim to be sent from the Department of Justice Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch.

The news release said scammers advise the recipient in the documents or phone calls that in order to lift the warrants they must make a payment through a cryptocurrency kiosk, which the documents provide directions on how to complete that process.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office and the FBI said for anyone who has received the documents or phone calls should not respond or complete the requests as they are illegitimate.

“We are aware of scammers attempting to target Montanans to trick us into paying cryptocurrency for bogus arrest warrants,” U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said. “No Montanan should ever be contacted by law enforcement asking for money to lift an arrest warrant. If you are contacted to do this, it’s fraudulent. These fraudsters can be convincing, and the documents may appear to be authentic, but they are not. I urge anyone who may be the targets of this scheme to report it to local law enforcement and the FBI.” 

Special Agent in Charge Shohini Sinha of Salt Lake City FBI said scammers prey on people’s fears using tactics to hastily provide personal information or payment.

They added that federal agencies and law enforcement will never contact people requesting money.

People impacted by this scam should contact the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud hotline at (866) 720-5721 or make a submission at this link: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form