SCOTTSDALE, AZ (AZFamily) — Scottsdale police say a Tempe man posing as an Uber driver stole more than a quarter of a million dollars in cryptocurrency from unsuspecting victims who just wanted a ride.

According to authorities, Nuruhussein Hussein posed as a fake Uber driver twice, on March 31 and Oct. 11, at the W Scottsdale hotel near Scottsdale and Camelback streets.

Scottsdale Police Sgt. Allison Sempsis said victims were asked to unlock their phones so the driver could look for directions or make sure they were connected to the Uber app.

Instead, court documents allege that Hussein would transfer money from her digital crypto wallet to his own, totaling $302,000, according to prosecutors this week.

Arrest documents state that in October, the victim gave Hussein the phone so he could try to “link” the ride, but he began driving down the block before handing the phone back, saying he couldn’t link the ride .

Later that morning, the victim noticed several emails indicating that a crypto transfer had taken place, stating that he had sent two Bitcoins.

Investigators from the Scottsdale PD Financial Crimes Unit were able to link IP addresses from Hussein’s digital wallet to his home.

The digital wallet revealed that he had converted the Bitcoin into another currency: Monero/XMR, which police say is more difficult to trace.

Police were also able to link Hussein to a similar case reported in March.

In this case, a victim reported feeling threatened if he did not hand over his phone because there was a gun near the center console when Hussein allegedly said, “If you don’t relax, something bad will happen.”

Scottsdale Police detectives and Secret Service special agents are still investigating.

Arizona’s Family has reported on several recent crypto scams, including that of a woman who lost $204,000 worth of crypto to the scam scheme.

Last year, two Maricopa County men were indicted for reportedly defrauding hundreds of people as part of a sophisticated crypto investment scheme.

What is Crypto?

Cryptocurrencies have been around for some time, but in recent years they have come into increasing focus.

Essentially, cryptocurrency is digital money. This type of currency is designed to operate over an online network without a central authority – meaning it is not typically backed by a government or banking institution – and transactions are recorded using a technology called blockchain.

Bitcoin is the largest and oldest cryptocurrency, although other assets such as Ethereum, Tether and Dogecoin have also gained popularity over the years.

Some investors view cryptocurrencies as a “digital alternative” to traditional money – but they can be very volatile and dependent on broader market conditions.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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