NEWBURYPORT, Mass. — The quick thinking of a local police officer saved a Maine woman from depositing $11,000 in cash into a Bitcoin ATM as part of an attempted scam, according to the chief administrator at the city’s police department, Matthew Simons.
On Tuesday around 5:30 p.m., Officer Nathaniel Kelley was at a Storey Avenue gas station when he was approached by a 75-year-old woman, who feared she may be getting scammed.
The woman said she was nervous because she was on the phone with someone claiming to be a government agent who knew personal information about her, and told her she had to deposit money into a Bitcoin ATM machine to avoid legal repercussions.
Based on his training, Kelley was immediately suspicious and asked to speak to the person on the phone with the 75-year-old, but that individual hung up as soon as a police officer joined the conversation.
Kelley soon learned the 75-year-old had driven from Maine in search of a Bitcoin ATM machine, and that she had withdrawn $11,000 in cash. He then explained the call was likely a scam, and encouraged the woman to keep an eye on her accounts in the immediate future and to report any suspicious activity.
The call was a common type of scam in which suspects pose as law enforcement or government officials and threaten would-be victims with legal consequences if they don’t provide money immediately. Other variations of the scam involve claims that a relative is in jail and needs immediate bail money, according to Simons.
Once cash is deposited into Bitcoin ATM machines, it is often irretrievable unless the entire Bitcoin ATM is seized with a search warrant. Few victims who actually send cash ever get their money back, and arrests are rare, according to local police.
The attempted scam comes weeks after the City Council voted on Oct. 5, to ban cryptocurrency ATMs within city limits. Assuming a procedural second vote goes the same way during Monday’s City Council meeting, all ATMs must be removed in two months. From Jan. 1, 2021, through Aug. 26, 2026, the Police Department has confirmed 10 incidents involving Bitcoin ATMs totaling $134,700.
“Most people don’t even know what Bitcoin ATMs are for, and we mostly only hear about them when they are used to transmit funds to scammers,” Simons said. “These machines provide little service to residents, but represent a real threat to public safety by providing a quick and easy way for residents to be separated from their hard-earned money.”
Story by Dave Rogers, The Daily News of Newburyport. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.