Millions recovered in ‘elaborate’ Bitcoin scam out of Pakistan
Police said the victim was convinced to invest in a cryptocurrency exchange when the money was transferred to wallets they didn’t own.
WESTPORT, Conn. — Over $3 million has returned to a Westport resident after an elaborate Bitcoin scam, police said.
The investigation began in May after the victim reported the scam. According to officials, the victim reportedly fell for the scam in January as they were convinced to move the money from a retirement account into a Kraken cryptocurrency account. Kraken is a cryptocurrency exchange.
The victim said that over $3 million worth of Bitcoin was withdrawn and transferred to cryptocurrency wallets that the victim did not control between January and March.
Westport detectives worked with the Connecticut State Police Organized Crime Task Force and were able to track the transactions and freeze all accounts that were associated with the scam.
Officials said that the accounts led to people living in Pakistan.
Investigators said that arrests were unlikely in this case, but Westport detectives were able to recover the $3.2 million that the victim had lost.
Westport officials remind residents to be cautious as scams are ever-changing to infiltrate communities.
Jennifer Glatz is a digital content producer at FOX61 News. She can be reached at jglatz@fox61.com.
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