Kansas City police say cryptocurrency crimes are increasing

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Cryptocurrency is touted as being a secure currency, encrypted to provide safety and security.

Now Kansas City’s Police Department is warning about ways criminals are getting around security features.

The department’s Economic Crimes Section said it is seeing a larger number of people falling victim to a variety of scams causing them to lose their cryptocurrency.

Detectives said the thieves have found ways to bypass two-factor authentication used by crypto wallets. So while the currency itself is safe and secure, bypassing the safety check in the wallet gives thieves access to the victim’s wallet and their cryptocurrency funds.

They say the majority of the criminals are overseas.

People of all ages and demographics are being victimized by the scams, and investigators expect crimes like these to only increase.

If you use cryptocurrency, experts and police have the following advice for you:

• Do not brag about it. Many people are on social media, either asking questions or boasting about gain
• Use an email account designated for cryptocurrency only.
• Actively monitor your accounts.
• While they also have weaknesses, hardware wallets may be slightly more secure than software wallets. If you’re going to use a hardware wallet to store cryptocurrency, use one with multi-factor authentication.

If you’re the victim of cryptocurrency crime, contact KCPD or file a complaint online with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center.