HELENA — The Helena Police Department is seeing an increase in cryptocurrency‑related scams and is warning the public of what to look out for.
Scammers are pretending to be law enforcement, investment advisors, or tech support and are using pressure, threats, or promises of “guaranteed” returns to trick people.
Things to remember are that legitimate agencies will never ask for cryptocurrency payments, urgent demands to “act now” are a major red flag, and if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Once crypto is sent, it’s extremely difficult and often impossible to recover.
The department has seen the elderly be the most targeted group and recommends that you check in on your older loved ones.
Detective Nathan Casey said, “if you are the one who is encountering people who are communicating with you online or through texts, and trying to get you to send money, speak to a loved one, or if you don't have anyone locally that you can talk to, go to one of the local banks because, they're very familiar with how these scams work and they can kind of help you decipher if, if what you're experiencing is a scam and also call the police department.”
If you suspect a scam, report it to local law enforcement and to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center.
