• An elderly woman has been scammed out of $20K through a bitcoin ATM.
• She was contacted by someone claiming to be a federal agent and instructed to withdraw money from her bank and purchase bitcoin at the ATM.
• Her bank and law enforcement are investigating, but it is likely her money is gone.
Elderly Woman Scammed Out of $20K
An elderly woman – who’s choosing not to be named at the time of writing – has been scammed out of $20K through the illicit use of a bitcoin ATM.
Fraudulent Phone Call
The woman received a call from someone claiming to be a federal agent, and he mentioned she had potentially been the subject of identity theft. He requested that she go to her local bank and withdraw some money, which turned out to be around $30K, then told her to go to a bitcoin ATM and purchase the asset. Despite warnings on the US Marshals Service website about such scams, she complied with his instructions without suspicion or hesitation.
No Questions Asked at Bank
When withdrawing the money from her bank (Citizens Bank), none of the tellers questioned or challenged her requests for large amounts of cash. After sending about $20K via bitcoin, as instructed by the caller, it finally dawned on her that this could be fraudulent activity. She visited an attorney for advice who quickly confirmed she was being scammed.
Bank’s Response
In response to what happened, Citizens Bank issued a statement expressing sympathy for their customer’s unfortunate situation: „We are sorry to hear that one of our customers may have been the victim of a scam… We do work closely with law enforcement when incidents occur and provide training for our colleagues in order to help detect such incidents.“
Investigation Underway
Law enforcement in her town are currently investigating but unfortunately it seems unlikely that any funds will be recovered. This serves as yet another reminder that caution must always be taken when dealing with cryptocurrency transactions, especially those involving large sums of money!
