Woman falls victim to nearly identical scam as one reported Saturday

Brian Todd, Post-Bulletin, Rochester, Minn.
·1 min read

Apr. 26—ROCHESTER — The Olmsted County Sheriff's Office notes that scammers can be, if nothing else, consistent.

In a

case that mirrors one reported

by the Rochester Police Department from Saturday, the sheriff's office reported that a woman was scammed out of $2,000 by an individual pretending to be law enforcement.

Sheriff's Lt. Malinda Hanson said at 2:13 p.m. on Thursday, April 25, 2024, a deputy responded to a report of theft or fraud. The victim stated she had been scammed by a person who claimed to be law enforcement, saying the victim had two citations totaling $10,000, and a warrant would be issued if the victim did not pay. The scammer then told the victim that if she sent $2,000 in Bitcoin the matter would be settled.

"This scam is nearly identical to the one released by RPD recently, including using the same store (Cub Foods) and Bitcoin server to have the victim send the money," Hanson said.

The victim sent the funds to an account provided by the scammer then realized she had been scammed. The victim contacted Coinme, the pay service, in an attempt to have the transaction reversed but had not received a reply yet, Hanson said.