Last week an Eden Prairie resident received a phone call from someone claiming to be with the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office.

The caller said the resident had an outstanding fine for missing a court appearance. Although the resident was not aware of any court appearance, he felt pressured to follow the advice from the "Sheriff’s Office" to withdraw $1,500 from an ATM and transfer it using a cryptocurrency exchange.

While in the processing of transferring the money at a Cub grocery store, an astute employee approached the resident and told him he might be the victim of scam. The Cub employee called 911, but when officers arrived, he had already lost $1,500 to the scammer. The good news is Minnesota has a relatively new Virtual Currency Kiosks law that allows victims of cryptocurrency scams the chance to be reimbursed if the victim was “fraudulently induced to engage in the virtual currency transaction.” Victims must report the fraud to a law enforcement agency within 72 hours of the transaction.

The EPPD is working with the victim to get his money back. Officers also advised him to block the person who called and provided additional financial crime information and resources.

Every year victims in Eden Prairie and across the U.S. are duped into believing convincing pitches to part with their money. Scammers can be very persuasive and use tactics that prey on people’s fears and vulnerabilities. They spoof caller ID numbers, email addresses and names to appear legitimate and make threats that sound credible. The perpetrator may impersonate the IRS, a police department, the Social Security Administration, a bank, a utility company or a grandchild in trouble.

If you receive a call or email that seems like a scam, the best thing to do is hang up immediately or delete the email — do not engage and do not send money or gift cards.

While the EPPD investigates all reports of scams, they are often challenging to solve as it is difficult to identify suspects who are not using their real names and often live outside of the U.S. The phone numbers and email addresses used to perpetrate the scams are quickly disconnected or are associated with throwaway phones that cannot be traced. Once thieves receive the money, it is spent immediately before victims have a chance to realize what happened.

If you believe you are the victim of a scam, please contact the EPPD at 952-949-6200.