Bitcoin ATMs are becoming more common, but investigators warn they can be used by scammers. Victims have lost $3 million this year in Essex County alone.
Almost a year after being scammed into depositing thousands tens of thousands of dollars into a Bitcoin ATM, a Massachusetts woman got all her money back.
We were there when Winthrop police returned $34,400 to Peggy Herbert, 83.
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"I’ve been saying my prayers, trust me," she said.
Herbert had received an alert saying her crew card account had been hacked, ands he called what she thought was the company's fraud department.
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"He said, 'Okay, go immediately to your bank," she recalled. '"Don't take any incoming calls, and go to the bank and withdraw the money.'"
"He said, 'If you want your children to be safe, then do as I tell you,'" Herbert continued, sayings felt scared.
The man's instructions? To go to a Bitcoin ATM — she went to one at a gas station in nearby Revere — and deposit lots of cash, which she did: "I was shaking and I had an envelope with a lot of money in it."
Herbert is far from alone, and many others aren't as lucky. People in Massachusetts reported losing $2.7 million in over 100 complaints filed with the FBI last year.
Another man we spoke to, whom we're calling Derek to protect his identity, fed more than $20,000 into Bitcoin machines after after getting a call from people posing as federal agents who told him his identity had been stolen and there was a warrant for his arrest. This despite being on guard against scams.
"They just had an answer for everything," he said.
These scams are on the rise in Essex County — victims are pouring thousands into Bitcoin ATMS and more machines are popping up, said Detectives Jim Carney, who works out of the Essex County District Attorney's Office, and Shawn Desmond, of Beverly police.
"The machines are flourishing. They’re popping up everywhere and we have really no idea exactly how many machines are out there in the wild," Carney said.
"It’s not just the elderly who are getting scammed," Desmond said. "We’re getting teenagers, professional people that are highly educated. It’s all across the map. These guys are just experts at scamming.”
Once the money is pumped into the machine, it’s tough to get back. If police are notified quickly, they can try to seize the machine to get the cash before it’s emptied.
If that works, then it’s up to a judge to decide if the money goes back to the victim or to the Bitcoin company that already paid for the transaction.
Police were able to get the cash out of the machines in Herbert and Derek’s cases.
"It makes you feel pretty angry to know that these people are just out there, scamming innocent people," Derek said.
Asked what she wants the public to know, Herbert said, "Hang up. Call someone in your family or call someone, a friend. Be careful of these sophisticated schemes."
