ACPD, VSP and FBI spread awareness on Crypto scams

(This article was originally published by C-Ville Today)

29 total cases were reported in Albemarle between Jan. 1, 2025, to Feb. 28 of this year. Nine resulted in victims losing a total of $240,000.

By Jackson Hephner March 11, 2026 1:57 pm

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA. (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) — In response to spike in reported case of cryptocurrency scams, the Albemarle County Police Department, Virginia State Police and FBI are looking to spread awareness on the crime’s increasing prevalence.

29 total cases were reported in Albemarle between Jan. 1, 2025, to Feb. 28 of this year. Of those cases, nine resulted in victims losing a total of $240,000. Since the new year, 11 cases have already been reported representing a 175% increase in cases compared to the same time last year. There were eight reported in February alone. These crimes primarily target the elderly, and their impact can be financially devastating.

“We have elderly folks who worked their entire careers to be retired,” ACPD Detective Marcus Baggett said, “and after these types of losses, they may find themselves living with elderly parents. Not where they plan to be in their retirement.”

FBI Intelligence Analyst Heather Harris said the trends in Albemarle are happening nationwide. While data from 2025 has not been made publicly available, the FBI’s Internet Crime Center (IC3) reported $9.3 billion in losses in its 2024 annual report, a 66% increase from 2023. Adults over 60 were the most impacted age group, accounting for $2.8 billion in losses.

Cryptocurrency scams can begin a number of different ways. Scammers will try to lure the victim in with an investment scam, convincing them they’ll earn money before taking away large sums. Other times, scammer will call different phone numbers, claiming to be a government agency, tech support, bank or other entity that needs money to fix a problem. This is designed to create a sense of urgency or panic in the victim.

“The fraudsters do this on purpose,” Harris said. “And so now they have the control.”

The fraudsters will then direct the victims to deposit their money into a Bitcoin ATM, which are commonly found in convenience stores, grocery stores, gas stations and vape shops. There are numerous ones in Albemarle County at different locations, and fraudsters will often find and direct victims to the closest one using their address.

Fraudsters will also give the victim a QR code that directs to the address of a cryptocurrency wallet. The victim will then take the QR code to the atm, deposit their money into the machine and send it to the QR code’s address. The machine instantaneously converts the money digitally and sends it to the fraudster, who is oftentimes overseas.

“By the time they walk out of that establishment — that convenience store, the grocery store, it is likely that the fraudster has the money,” Harris said.

This can make it difficult for law enforcement to track down the money. Crypto is often used by fraudsters because it can be transferred quickly, even over international borders.

“We can trace it,” Harris said, “but in order to actually get the funds and return them, often by the time a victim comes and reports it, it has already moved on to other wallets and converted to other types of currency.”

That’s why all three officers emphasized the importance of reporting these crimes early. First Sergeant Adam Kulpa of the Virginia State Police’s High-Tech Crimes Division, which works with ACPD and other localities to trace back the cryptocurrency lost in these cases, said many victims will feel embarrassed or ashamed when these crimes happen, leading to them holding off on reporting it to the police, which can be a critical mistake.

“If we can get somebody to report it within 48 hours, we like to say the chances are so much more successful,” he said. “But the longer we wait, the more difficult it is.”

Kulpa and Harris also said the more information that a victim can provide to the police, the easier it will be to trace the cryptocurrency. This can include names, phone numbers, crypto wallet addresses, receipts from the crypto ATM and even event headers from emails.

“The more information we have, the better that we can do at our job, which is to keep everyone safe,” Harris said.

Harris also made it clear that no legitimate business, government agency, bank or financial institution will demand U.S. Citizens pay or send money through cryptocurrency and encouraged people to share that information with loved ones to help them be aware of these scams before they happen.

“It’s just a great thing to remember to keep you safe,” she said.

If you've been subjected to a scam attempt like this, please contact
the Norfolk Sheriff's Office's Consumer Protection Unit to file a report.

Sheriff Joe Baron and the Norfolk Sheriff’s Office Consumer Protection Unit are warning citizens of a jury duty scam once again making its rounds in the Norfolk area. We have recently been contacted by several citizens who have received calls from someone portraying themselves as an employee of the Norfolk Sheriff’s Office, claiming the citizen missed jury duty and must pay a fine to avoid jail time. The caller says the citizen must pay approximately $2,500 per fine and tells the citizen they have multiple fines, stating they owe several thousand dollars.

To get the word out about this scam and others like it, the Norfolk Sheriff’s Office recently purchased billboard space in high traffic areas around Norfolk. Additionally, Sheriff Joe Baron has put together a scam task force comprised of sheriff’s office employees who have been visiting area businesses dropping off scam alert posters. These posters have been distributed to over 100 businesses in Norfolk.

“While this scam has been going around for several years, we’ve recently heard from a number of citizens who have fallen victim to these tactics. We are committed to keeping citizens from falling for this scam and wanted to find a way to get the word out. Through our billboards and posters, we hope citizens will take note of the warning and if they receive one of these calls that they will simply hang up the phone,” stated Sheriff Joe Baron.

As a reminder, the Norfolk Sheriff's Office will NEVER call asking for money over the phone and correspondence regarding jury duty is always done in person through deputies or through a summons posted on residential doors. Additionally, we will NEVER call and tell someone there is a warrant for their arrest. 

It’s important to note, Virginia State Code § 8.01-356 states “If any juror who has been given due notice to appear in court shall fail to do so without sufficient excuse, he shall be fined not less than $50 nor more than $200.” Meaning, you will never be arrested for missing jury duty and never have to pay more than $200.

We ask that any resident who has fallen victim to this scam and sent money to the callers, please contact the Norfolk Police Department's Economic Crimes Division to file a report.

For additional information about common scams, please visit the Norfolk Sheriff’s Office Consumer Protection Unit website at https://norfolk-sheriff.com/fraudwatch.

If you've been subjected to a scam attempt like this, please contact
the Norfolk Sheriff's Office's Consumer Protection Unit to file a report.

Norfolk Circuit Court receives multiple reports of someone masquerading as a law clerk to extort money

Several people in Norfolk have reported that they've received phone calls - purportedly from a clerk with Norfolk Circuit Court - claiming that the recipient of the call failed to complete some sort of legal obligation and has to pay a fee to avoid being arrested.

The person attempting to perpetrate this scam identifies himself as "Jack Tiernan," who actually is a law clerk with the court. However, the number that shows up in caller-ID is not his.

One person who the scammer tried to trick was able to record a portion of the call he and his wife received while it was in progress. You can listen to it here:

As you can clearly hear, there were many inconsistencies in how the scammer presented information.

A representative of Norfolk Circuit Court told us they're receiving two or three reports a day from people who have received a call from this scammer attempting to frighten them into giving up their money in order to stay out of trouble. The representative said that many of the people reporting this live in the Larchmont area of the city. They said this may be because Larchmont has many older and more affluent residents.

In this case, it has not yet gotten to the point of the caller specifying how much money the intended victim should pay, or how it should be delivered. "I suspect if it ever came down to payment it would be in the usual means of gift or money pak cards which itself sets off alarms, or should," said Capt. Mike Imprevento, the OIC of NSO's Consumer Protection Unit.

When the intended victim called the number back that was displayed on caller-ID, he said a recording in the same voice could be heard stating that this was the office of Jack Tiernan, and to leave a message (which he wisely did not do).

However, a member of the Norfolk Police Department's Economic Crimes Unit told us: "Often these people have a way to mask/display a different outgoing number on caller-ID. We have seen cases where the number calling the people is literally the same number as Navy Federal, as in they hang up with the scammer, call the same number back, and it connects to legit NFCU. Same with our police operations center, where the outgoing scam call was made and displayed the callback number of the POC (Police Operations Center), 664-7000.

"These same scams have been prevalent with both the NSO, mentioning the Sheriff, the Chief of Police, and other agencies all over the country. It wouldn’t surprise any of us if they were centered outside of the United States."

DON'T BE FOOLED BY THESE SCAMMERS! IF YOU RECEIVE A CALL LIKE THIS, REPORT IT TO AUTHORITIES!

If you've been subjected to a scam attempt like this, please contact
the Norfolk Sheriff's Office's Consumer Protection Unit to file a report.