LEHI, Utah (KUTV) — Two officers with the Lehi Police Department encountered a senior woman being actively scammed when they stopped at a gas station convenience store to get a drink.
Now, they are warning others to prevent more potential victims.
The officers said the woman was standing at a Bitcoin ATM and appeared distressed. She was also speaking on the phone, which are common signs fraud is being committed.
“The fraudsters want to keep the victim speaking to them so they don’t have second thoughts and the fraudsters know as soon as the money is deposited and can get the information from the victim necessary to complete the fraud/theft,” the police department said.
The woman had reportedly deposited several thousand dollars into the machine and was working on depositing the remaining $15,000 when the officers approached her.
As they did so, the officers saw a senior man walking to the same machine with a large amount of cash, also speaking to someone on the phone. The officers spoke to him about what was going on, and he took his cash and left.
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The officers were able to seize the ATM through a search warrant and are working to recover what cash they can.
Most of the time this is not the case, however, and the fraud is completed with no one knowing until it is too late.
“We are deeply concerned about the recurring incidence of Bitcoin fraud targeting the elderly population in our community,” the police department said. “With technology advancements, it is very difficult for the elderly to understand the sophisticated scams that are specifically targeting their age group.”
Criminals usually tell their victims that their bank account has been hacked and they need to transfer their funds to a Bitcoin ATM for security, that they missed jury duty for a high-profile case and need to pay a fine to avoid arrest, or that a family member has been arrested and they need to send them money to prevent them from going to jail.
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