Stearns County resident loses tens of thousands of dollars in online scam

St. Cloud, Minn. (KNSI) – A Stearns County resident was taken for tens of thousands of dollars in a computer scam involving cryptocurrency.

The sheriff’s office responded to a fraud call in August after a man went to his bank for the second time to withdraw a large amount of cash. 

A bank employee told the victim they were being scammed and to call the police.

Deputies learned that the victim was on their computer when two windows popped up. One stated they had been “caught” looking at something they shouldn’t have, and another said there had been a security breach and listed a number to call. 

When the victim dialed the number, they were told their computer had been hacked and their bank information and other private data had been stolen.

The victim was told to secure their money and they needed to pull out all their cash from their financial institutions and turn it into Bitcoin to thwart the hack. 

The victim went to four locations because they could only convert $10,000 per transaction into Bitcoin. 

After each withdrawal, the victim received a QR code and they passed along the codes to the scammers under the pretense that they secure the money in a federal repository program to keep hackers from getting it.

Police say if you are ever told that your banking information has been compromised, contact the bank immediately.

Story by Jake Judd / KNSI