Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced on Tuesday that “a new unit within the Bureau of Criminal Investigation [BCI] recently recovered $130,000 lost in a cryptocurrency scam in the Columbus area, marking its first victory as a specialized team assigned to help local law enforcement with such cases.”

The Electronic Fraud Investigations unit was created to combat cyber financial crimes, especially cryptocurrency scams, which have become increasingly complex. The scam targeted a 75-year-old woman from Worthington, Ohio, who was tricked into withdrawing $1,000 and depositing it into a bitcoin ATM after receiving a fraudulent message on her computer.

“The scammers instructed the victim to withdraw $1,000 from her accounts and deposit the money into a bitcoin ATM machine,” the announcement details, adding:

The scam escalated from there, as the victim continued to comply with the bad actors’ demands, making additional deposits, providing personal information, and granting access to bank accounts and a cryptocurrency wallet.

As a result, the victim lost $280,000 in total, but timely intervention from BCI allowed for the recovery of $130,000.

The BCI’s Electronic Fraud Investigations unit was formed to bridge the gap between local and federal law enforcement in handling complex electronic fraud. The unit’s collaboration with the Worthington Police Department led to the successful tracing and freezing of stolen funds on the blockchain.

The Attorney General’s office also continues to focus on educating the public about the dangers of cryptocurrency scams, with Yost noting: “Education and prevention are the best deterrents for consumers against cryptocurrency scams.”

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