AMARILLO, Texas (KVII) — Amarillo police recovered money stolen from the victim of an employment scam.
The victim came to APD headquarters on Aug. 14 to report the scam.
They had applied for a remote personal assistant job through an online job site.
The scam involved the suspect sending fraudulent checks, instructing the victim to deposit the funds, withdraw them, and then place the money into a Bitcoin ATM, where the funds were transferred to a digital wallet.
The fraudulent deposit occurred on Aug. 13.
Cpl. Ed Carroll immediately notified the Financial Crimes Unit.
Det. Janae Coleman began tracking the cryptocurrency as the funds moved from the initial wallet into a crypto exchange.
The funds were frozen on Aug. 18.
On Monday, APD was notified the funds had been returned.
“The Amarillo Police Department would like to commend Corporal Carroll for his attentiveness in recognizing the scam and notifying the FCU immediately, and Detective Coleman for her diligent work in tracking and recovering the majority of the victim’s funds,” said APD. “Their efforts prevented a significant financial loss and demonstrate the importance of quickly involving the Financial Crimes Unit in these types of cases.”
APD said you should be cautious of unsolicited job offers, especially those requiring unusual financial transactions such as depositing checks and converting funds to cryptocurrency.
If you believe you are the victim of a scam, please contact the Amarillo Police Department immediately.
