A victim was scammed out of $13,000 after receiving a phone call from a person who pretended to be from the Mercer County Sheriff’s Office, according to the Hopewell Township Police Department.
In the incident that was reported Jan. 22, the victim was told to deposit $13,000 into a Bitcoin account. Once the money was deposited, the victim was told there were two more federal charges. The victim was told to deposit an additional $16,000, police said.
Once the victim disputed and questioned it, he was put on hold and the call was subsequently disconnected, police said.
The Hopewell Township Police Department has advised residents that local police departments or sheriff’s offices will never solicit for money or take any payments over the phone or through any cryptocurrency or gift cards.