KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Clay County Sheriff’s Office is warning the public of bitcoin scams after an elderly man lost $10,000 last week.
The sheriff’s office shared a post on Facebook Wednesday, stating they were informed of a report about a man in his late 70s who received a phone call from an unknown number last week, claiming his bank account had been compromised.
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“He was instructed to go to his bank in Liberty and withdraw $20,000 from his account and was told not to say anything because the person who stole his information might be working for the bank,” the sheriff’s office said.
“He stated he was told to leave his phone in the car and to not hang up, and if asked why he needed the money, to say he was going on vacation.”
According to the sheriff’s office, the victim was only able to withdraw $10,000, leading the scammers to ask him to go to another bank in Gladstone to get the remaining cash. However, the man did not.
The scammers then told the victim to go to a Bitcoin ATM in Liberty, where he deposited the $10,000.
At this time, investigators are working to get the money back, but said it is “incredibly” difficult to withdraw cash once it is deposited into these ATMs.
If you do receive a call from a random number claiming to have access to your account and asking you to deposit large sums of money into an ATM, the sheriff’s office warns that this is likely a scam and encourages victims not to engage with the caller.
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