An elderly woman in Westlake was deceived into depositing thousands of dollars into a cryptocurrency ATM by a scammer. This occurred despite multiple warnings from both police and store employees.
What Happened: A 71-year-old woman was seen at a Marathon convenience store last month, continuously putting cash into a Bitcoin ATM while engaged in a phone call. Despite the store employee and police urging her to stop, believing she was falling victim to a scam, the woman continued.
Police body camera footage captured an officer warning the woman, “We deal with this all the time, stop what you're doing, I'm telling you, stop. If somebody tells you to do this, you are being scammed.”
However, the scammer, who was posing as a bank fraud investigator, had convinced the woman to ignore these warnings.
As per the report by the Fox 8, the scammer had manipulated the woman into depositing $18,000 into the crypto machine under the pretense of protecting her life savings from theft. The woman eventually ceased her actions after losing $5,500.
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The victim revealed to investigators that the scam initiated with a pop-up message on her computer, claiming a virus infection.
The scammer then convinced her that illegal material had been placed on her computer and that she needed to transfer her money to a crypto machine.
While law enforcement was able to freeze the scammer’s crypto wallet using advanced technology, it is still unclear whether the victim will be able to recover her lost funds.
Why It Matters: This incident underscores the growing concern over cryptocurrency scams, particularly those targeting vulnerable individuals.
As cryptocurrencies become more mainstream, the frequency of such scams is likely to increase, highlighting the need for greater awareness and protective measures.
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