Middleburg Heights resident defrauded of $165,000 through phone-bitcoin scam
MIDDLEBURG HEIGHTS, Ohio – A Chippewa Trail resident was defrauded of about $165,000 through a phone-bitcoin scam.
The resident told police Nov. 5 that someone named AJ, claiming that he was with Microsoft, had called him every 15 minutes and warned that his Social Security number was on the dark web.
AJ the scammer warned the resident that someone might hack into his bank accounts. He said he would fix the problem for a fee.
The scammer instructed the resident to buy Apple gift cards in denominations of $500, $1,000, $2,000 and $4,000.
Then the resident was asked to take pictures of the backs of the gift cards, which contained the card numbers, and text them to the scammer. The resident did so.
The resident then received a call from a second scammer posing as a Fifth Third Bank worker. The fake banker told the resident that his account had been hacked.
The fake banker told the resident to send money to correct the problem. The man, as instructed, converted cash to bitcoin and transmitted the payment through bitcoin ATMs in Middleburg Heights and Parma.
Police checked the scammers’ phone numbers but they didn’t belong to any person or business.
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