Westport Police Recover $3.2M In Bitcoin After ‘Elaborate’ Scam
WESTPORT, CT — Police in Westport have recovered millions of dollars in Bitcoin that they said was part of an elaborate, international financial scam involving people in Pakistan.
Police were alerted to the scam in May. A victim told them they were persuaded in January to move money from their retirement account into a “Kraken” cryptocurrency account, police said.
Between January and March, more than $3 million dollars in Bitcoin was withdrawn and transferred to cryptocurrency wallets that the victim did not control, police said.
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Westport police and the state police’s organized crime task force tracked the transactions and effectively froze all accounts associated with the scam.
“Ultimately these accounts led to individuals living in Pakistan. Although arrests are highly unlikely in this case, Westport Police are proud to announce that our Detective Bureau was able to recover 3.2 million dollars which has been returned to the victim,” Westport police said in a news release.
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Authorities also warned residents to be cautious against “ever-changing scams that continue to infiltrate our community.”
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