PEORIA COUNTY (25News Now) – An elderly man in Peoria County reported being scammed out of around $71,000 to the Peoria County Sheriff’s Office on March 28.
Victim Advocate Aimee Shinall said the scammers accessed the man’s bank account and computer after he clicked on an email link that appeared to be from PayPal. That email claimed he owed more than $700.
Shinall said the scammers also told the man to take his money to a Bitcoin machine, similar to an ATM. She said it is becoming a popular choice for scammers, just like prepaid debit cards have been for years.
“You put cash directly into it, and it is like an online, virtual account where you have Bitcoin currency,” Shinall said. “Once you put the cash in there, your cash is gone, and it is untraceable.”
Shinall said they get scam cases weekly, often for thousands of dollars each. She said it’s hard to track down perpetrators, as they are frequently from outside the U.S., and that there is usually no way for victims to get their money back.
“We feel helpless that there is nothing we can do,” Shinall said. “If it sounds too good to be true, it is. You will never have to pay for any kind of service with prepaid debit cards or Bitcoin.”
Shinall said victims of a scam should call their financial institution first, and then call law enforcement.
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