DOJ’s OCP warning Montanans of targeted cryptocurrency scams

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Press Release, Uncategorized

DOJ’s OCP warning Montanans of targeted cryptocurrency scams

HELENA – The Montana Department of Justice’s Office of Consumer Protection (OCP) is warning Montanans of a cryptocurrency scam in which fraudsters are targeting businesses that took out Payroll Protection Program (PPP) loans designed to help employers retain staff during COVID-19.

The scammers are taking advantage of the confusion surrounding whether PPP loans would need to be paid back, tricking individuals into paying them with cryptocurrency to lift non-existent arrest warrants for failure to pay back their loan. Most of these loans have been forgiven.

While on the phone, scammers will tell the victim not to hang up or they will be arrested. Targeted individuals are then directed to take large sums of cash from their personal or business bank accounts and deposit those funds into scammers’ accounts using bitcoin ATMs. Once the funds are deposited into a bitcoin ATM, they are irretrievable, and completely out of reach for local law enforcement and the FBI.

Information available from the federal government’s database and media organizations which made sensitive information—including loan amounts, dates, lender information, employees who received disbursements, and more—available to the public, allows scammers to specifically target individuals and businesses who took out a PPP loan. In some cases, forged documents have even been sent to the targeted individuals in an attempt to corroborate the fraudsters’ claims.

OCP offers the following tips to avoiding falling victim to highly targeted scams such as this one:

  • Law enforcement or government agencies will NEVER contact Montanans asking for money in order to lift an arrest warrant. If you receive such solicitations, DO NOT respond or follow any requests.
  • Never send money or provide personal information to someone you do not know, no matter what threats they may make.
  • Always trust your gut. If something feels “off,” about a caller, it probably is.

To report an attempted scam, use OCP’s convenient online reporting form here. You can also call to speak with an investigator at (800) 481-6896 or (406) 444-4500, visit OCP’s homepage at https://dojmt.gov/consumer/, or call your local law enforcement agency.

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