Texas woman says she lost over $30,000 in bitcoin ATM scam tied to fake bank, Federal Reserve calls
A Frisco woman says she was tricked into depositing more than $32,000 into a bitcoin ATM machine after scammers convinced her she was protecting her money from hackers.
Susan Mayfield, 76, said that on July 23, she received an alert on her laptop appearing to come from Microsoft, warning her that her computer had been hacked and instructing her to call a phone number on the screen.
"The caller told me there were five foreign IP addresses on my computer," Mayfield said. "He said he could see all sorts of things the hackers had done, including stealing $32,800 from my bank account."
Mayfield was directed to call her bank at a number the scammer provided. A woman on the line told her to cash the amount, $15,000 at one bank and $17,800 at another, and then deposit it into a bitcoin ATM at a Fast Track convenience store in Lake Dallas, claiming it would somehow prevent the fraudulent withdrawal.
"I could not believe I had fallen for it," she said. "I really could not."
Scammers posed as Federal Reserve agents
After she did as instructed, two other men claiming to be from the Federal Reserve called Mayfield and even provided fake identification. They told her to withdraw larger amounts from her investment accounts and buy gold bars. That's when she realized she had been deceived.
Mayfield recalled a recent story in Garland, where a victim lost $25,000 in an in-person cash handoff. In that case, authorities worked with the FBI to arrest a suspect.
In Mayfield's situation, the FBI says there is little they can do because the scam involved hard-to-trace bitcoin transactions.
FBI advice for spotting and reporting bitcoin scams
Mayfield filed a report with the Federal Trade Commission to help track the fraud and hopes her story can warn others.
"If it can happen to me, it can happen to them," she said. "It's a huge, huge life lesson."
The FBI recommends never calling a phone number provided in a suspicious alert. Instead, hang up, look up the number yourself, and contact your bank directly.
If you fall victim to a bitcoin scam, the FBI says you can file a police report and provide it to the owner of the bitcoin machine. While it is not guaranteed, some money may be recoverable.