Area police are cautioning businesses about a scam involving an individual impersonating a fire marshal to solicit fraudulent payments via Bitcoin.
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According to the Middletown Township Police Department, a scammer recently contacted a township business claiming to be the fire marshal. The caller demanded immediate payment for “required testing,” warning that failure to comply would result in a fine.
The payment for the testing was requested in Bitcoin.
The targeted employee received a text message from someone pretending to be their supervisor who was instructing them to withdraw money from the business’s safe and deposit it into a Bitcoin machine at a nearby smoke shop.
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Following these instructions, the employee unknowingly transferred over $2,000 into a Bitcoin account, police said.
The plot took a further twist when the fake boss persuaded the “super loyal employee” to deposit an additional $600 from their personal funds to cover more “accrued fees,” according to police.
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The real supervisor later contacted the employee and uncovered the scam after learning that the instructions had not originated from them. By then, the combined sum of $2,600 had already been transferred and was irretrievable, police said.
Police highlight that Bitcoin is not an accepted form of payment for any fire marshal services in the township.
In a social media post, the department stressed the importance of verifying any such unusual requests directly with supervisors or relevant offices.
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“The solvability of this case is about zero percent,” police wrote. “These scammers are extraordinarily convincing, but do not get sucked into their contrived urgency.”
Police asked anyone receiving similar requests to immediately contact their direct supervisor using a known number and to confirm with the official fire marshal’s office before making any payments.
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