Nearly half a million dollars was stolen from an Alexandria man in a cryptocurrency scam from a person he met on Tinder, according to a recently released search warrant affidavit.
On Jan. 28, the victim reported to the Alexandria Police Department that he had been scammed out of approximately $480,000 of his own money.
Alexandria is warning residents against scammers impersonating city officials and asking for payments for outstanding fees.
The city issued a security alert on its website to permit applicants and property owners, although no scams have been reported within the city. Ebony Fleming, the city’s communications director, said the FBI sent out an initial alert and that the city’s warning is a precautionary measure.
Another Alexandria resident has fallen victim to scammers pretending to represent the Sheriff’s Office this fall, according to a recently released search warrant affidavit.
A woman was scammed out of $5,000 following interactions with suspects claiming to represent the Sheriff on Oct. 9, just three days after another resident was scammed out of $4,600 through a similar situation.
An Alexandria woman was scammed out of thousands of dollars last month in an elaborate scheme by several suspects pretending to be Sheriff’s Office officials.
No arrests have been made in connection with the Oct. 6 incident, in which scammers coerced the victim to deposit $4,600 into a Bitcoin ATM in Arlandria, through a barrage of texts, calls and false documents, according to a recent search warrant affidavit.
An Alexandria woman lost nearly $7,600 in a phone scam last month, according to the Alexandria Police Department.
On August 12, the victim received a phone call from multiple suspects claiming to be representatives of Wells Fargo, stating that the victim’s account information had been leaked. The victim was told she needed to transfer her money to a different account, according to a recently released search warrant affidavit.
Locals around the region may have received texts recently for “unpaid toll bills” — be aware that this is part of a ‘smishing’ scam making the rounds nationwide.
Smishing is a type of data phishing scam that uses text messages to lure people into giving personal information. The text going around gives a url and tells the receiver to put the address into their Safari browser and open it.
The Alexandria Sheriff’s Office is warning local residents to be wary of an ongoing phone scam in which suspects pose as local law enforcement and coerce victims into giving money.
The Sheriff’s Office warned the scam has been occurring throughout the region, including in Alexandria.
The Alexandria Police Department (APD) is warning residents against an all-too-familiar scam — callers pretending to be law enforcement calling to collect bills.
One scam was recently reported on Nextdoor.
The city issued a fraud alert yesterday after fake invoices were sent to customers using the Alexandria Permitting and Land Use System (APEX).
The city’s sent out an email on Wednesday (Sept. 18) stating that APEX users were being targeted. The city only allows permit applications through the system, and the city said that fake invoices are being mailed to customers.
Good Wednesday morning, Alexandria!
☀️ Today’s weather: Expect sunny conditions and a high near 86 degrees, accompanied by a north wind at 5 to 8 mph. Wednesday night will be clear with a low around 66 degrees and a light northwest wind.
An Alexandria woman was scammed of more than $100,000 from a suspect who claimed to be a representative of the U.S. Social Security Administration, according to a recently released search warrant affidavit.
The victim received an email last October from an individual claiming to work for SSA informing her that “her account was being suspended due to fraudulent activity and listed a phone number to contact,” according to the search warrant affidavit.
