ORLANDO, Fla. – An Orange County woman lost $21,000 in cryptocurrency transactions orchestrated by imposters posing as security investigators with Bank of America.
Barbara, who asked we only use her first name, saved the screenshot of the caller ID that clearly shows Bank of America.
She told News 6 the imposters claimed her account was being accessed by people she had never heard of and that she needed to withdraw all of the cash from her account and transfer it to bitcoin accounts to protect it.
“They said they were from Bank of America,” Barbara told News 6. “And I have Bank of America logos and everything, everything is showing Bank of America.”
One of the imposters emailed her four QR codes to be used in bitcoin transactions, each with a Bank of America logo.
“‘There’s a place on Colonial Drive,’ he’s directing me now (Colonial Liquor),” she recalled.
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The victim admits she had never heard of a bitcoin hub but was convinced this was the only way to protect her money.
At one point they told her the people trying to access her bank account worked for the bank.
Special agent in charge Caroline O’Brien-Buster said the Secret Service Cyber Task Force is launching a seven-county alert from Citrus to Brevard counties to warn potential victims of the tactics used in cryptocurrency schemes.
The task force will post signs on store windows and near the ATM machines identified at roughly 433 locations.
This week, the task force posted cryptoscam warnings at roughly 70 locations in Seminole County.
“We just want to bring awareness out to the community,” O’Brien-Buster said. “There’s just so many people being victimized by fraudsters and being told to use bitcoin ATMs.”
The Federal Trade Commission said between January and September this year, Americans lost more than $1 billion in cryptocurrency scams ranging from bank fraud to romance scams.
The posters highlight the six common scams used by the conmen including:
- Were you encouraged to send cryptocurrency to repair a virus on your computer?
- Were you told the only way to protect your money was by making deposits to cryptocurrency ATMs?
- Did someone ask you to lie to the bank or keep the reason for your cryptocurrency purchase a secret?
The poster also advises consumers “scammers may use cryptocurrencies because the transactions are irreversible and hard to trace.”
“This is happening across the country,” Obrien-Buster said. “The reason the Secret Service is so focused on placing these fliers at the different establishments is because the deception is so prolific.”
In Barbara’s case, Obrien-Buster said the money is likely gone.
If you have been caught in a bitcoin ATM scam, contact the U.S. Secret Service Orlando Field Office at 407-648-6333.
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