In a budget request submitted to the governor’s budget office by Attorney General Catherine Hanaway , officials outline a plan to hire five additional attorneys, four investigators and two support staff at a cost of $901,782 for the effort.
“Cryptocurrency scams are becoming more common and often target elderly victims and consumers,” the request notes. “There is significant need to devote additional resources to investigators and attorneys to uncover, investigate, and move quickly to protect Missouri consumers in these circumstances.”
The request comes as Kehoe is set to outline his budget request to lawmakers in his State of the State speech on Jan. 13 . After years of robust surpluses, the governor has warned that state revenue and spending increases may be limited.
Hanaway’s concerns about a rise in cryptocurrency scams mirror announcements by law enforcement officials in recent months.
In November, the Kirkwood Police Department issued a warning about an uptick in scammers contacting residents through phone calls, texts and online pop-up messages.
The calls often pretend to be government, law enforcement, banks or utility providers who attempt to scare recipients to withdraw cash and send it to them using a Bitcoin ATM.
In a report, Kirkwood police said a resident lost $26,000 to an "elaborate computer scam" on Nov. 24 involving cryptocurrency.
Earlier this year, Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins ranked crypto scams as a top consumer concern.
“Always check the person’s background and qualifications before investing. If they hesitate to share that information, that’s a red flag. Walk away,” Hoskins said in a warning to investors.
The Kansas City area also has faced an increase of fraud. Clay County officials say more than 150 residents have lost $3 million to Bitcoin ATM scams in the past two years.
A common version of the con includes victims receiving calls from people pretending to be sheriff’s deputies or court officials who say the victims missed court and now have a warrant. The hoaxer then pressures the person to withdraw money and deposit in a Bitcoin ATM commonly seen in convenience stores.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City reported that scammers send victims QR codes linked to their wallets, making the funds unrecoverable.
The FBI reported in September that Americans were duped out of more than $5.6 billion in 2024 through fraud schemes involving cryptocurrency, representing a 45% jump in losses from 2022.
“The decentralized nature of cryptocurrency, the speed of irreversible transactions, and the ability to transfer value around the world make cryptocurrency an attractive vehicle for criminals, while creating challenges to recover stolen funds,” wrote Michael Nordwall, assistant director of the FBI’s criminal investigative division.
Hanaway’s request said the expanded Consumer Protection division office would work with the Missouri State Highway Patrol division that evaluates suspicious activity to identify potential trends or patterns in crime.
“With greater resources, including advanced technology resources, consumer protection can broaden and accelerate its efforts to address this rising consumer fraud,” the request states.
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