Cary, NC -- On Tuesday, July 15 in Wilmington, NC, Attorney General Jeff Jackson and Secretary of State Elaine Marshall held a press conference with AARP and NC 211 to announce a statewide effort to help keep North Carolinians from being scammed by using Bitcoin ATMs. United Way of North Carolina (UWNC) President and CEO, Brittany Pruitt Fletcher, attended and spoke on behalf of NC 211, UWNC's program which partners with AARP on scam and fraud prevention.
Secretary Marshall reported the statistics from the FBI involving cryptocurrency related crime jumped nearly 1,300% from 2017 to 2023.
The scam usually comes about with a phone call from an unknown caller who claims to be someone else that is more trustworthy. They may tell a story that requires you to urgently go to the nearest Bitcoin kiosk to send them money and potentially your personal information for "confirmation purposes."
Although anyone can fall victim to a scam, David Kirkman with AARP says seniors over the age of 65 remain the biggest targets.
“If the elder fraud industry were a corporation, it would be a worldwide mega corporation making hundreds of billions of dollars every year tax free and with very little infrastructure. They make all of this money almost for nothing,” Kirkman stated.
Willington Interim Police Chief Ralph Evangelous also encouraged people to take basic precautions.
“Delete, rip up, hang up. Don’t talk to anyone you don’t know, don’t open any emails you don’t know who they are from and don’t answer the phone if you don’t know who is calling you. If we do that, we can put a stop to this,” Chief Evangelous said.
Secretary Marshall chimed in with:
“And sometimes we don’t question the stuff that comes to us and we absolutely, to protect ourselves, need to question what somebody is advocating to us because crooks are out there all the time trying to get into our pocketbooks,” Secretary Marshall said.
As part of a statewide effort to spread awareness about Bitcoin ATM scams, Attorney General Jackson's team is launching an initiative to work with local law enforcement and businesses to put warning signs near ATMs.
“Just to get people to stop and think before they make one of the biggest financial mistakes of their life,” Jackson said on the initiative.
Pruitt Fletcher spoke on the importance of reporting and getting help, that if you have been a victim of any type of scam or fraudulent activity, dial 2-1-1 or visit NC211.org to receive help reporting the scam and navigating next steps to fight back and protect yourself from further scams. NC 211 partners with AARP to provide this service for North Carolinians free of charge, 24/7, and in multiple languages.
Please know that no state or local agency will ever call or message you to send money immediately to fix a problem.
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About NC 211
NC 211 is an information and referral service provided by United Way of North Carolina and powered by local United Ways of North Carolina. Families and individuals can call 2-1-1 or 1-888-892-1162 to receive free and confidential information on health and human services within their community. Visit NC211.org to learn more.
About AARP
AARP helps arm you with the information you need to avoid scams and is fighting to change laws to hold criminals accountable. With fraud reaching crisis levels and costing older Americans billions annually, AARP's efforts are more crucial than ever in the face of rapidly evolving technological threats. Visit AARP.org to learn more.