Police Log: Between three separate cases of fraud, Summit County victims lost a total of $356,715

A Summit County Sheriff's Department vehicle. Photo: Michele Roepke//TownLift

Tuesday, September 27

SUMMIT COUNTY, Utah — Summit County Sheriff Deputies responded to two fraud cases. The first involved fraudulent checks, and the second was a spam email posing as a company the victim had hired for work on her property.

Deputies were dispatched to the complainant’s home near Canyons Resort Drive for an incident of fraud. The complainant discovered that eight fraudulent checks were cashed between September 21 and 26. The total amount of money lost exceeds $40,000.

After gathering all available information and being unable to identify a suspect, the case was forwarded to investigations.

The second fraud case started with an email asking for payment to settle a bill sent by an email address posing as the company she hired to work on her property. The email was compromised by phishers who provided account information for her to send money. In total, $66,715 was sent to the account, which did not belong to the company she hired.

Further investigation is currently being done on the account where the money was sent.

Monday, September 26

Deputies responded to a case of fraud involving cryptocurrency. The complainant met a male on Instagram that allegedly dealt in cryptocurrency. Over a few months, the complainant had transferred around $250,000 to invest in cryptocurrency. The transfers were done using an app called ‘Coin Castle.’

The complainant attempted to withdraw some of her earnings and was told she would need to pay a broker fee of around $25,000 to $30,000. The male she met on Instagram had used a fake name. The case has been forwarded to detectives for further investigation.