The Buffalo, N.Y woman, told WKBW that she lost her life savings of $43,000 and her part-time job after scammers hacked into her work computer.
The pop-up on the woman’s computer instructed her to call a number, which connected her with someone who informed her that her bank credentials were compromised and that she needed to move her money to protect it.
As part of a common phishing scheme, the fake ad involved malware that purports to lock you out of your desktop and tell you that your finances have been compromised. According to the victim, the only way to save money is to move it into a new bank account that’s inaccessible.
The woman followed the scammers’ instructions by withdrawing $43,130 in cash, wiring $13,700 to a bank in East Asia, and then depositing $29,430 into a Bitcoin ATM.
In the ATM, dollars are converted to cryptocurrency and moved to the user’s digital wallet. A barcode was provided to the woman, and her money was sent to Kolkata, India.
“This is organized crime. She is up against a sophisticated criminal operation,” said AARP’s director of fraud prevention Kathy Stokes in a statement to WKBW. “They got the money, the time, the playbook, they have employees, and it’s us against them.”
Her part-time employer fired her after she accidentally let scammers access her work computer.as a result.
“Bitcoin is only supposed to go to your wallet,” said Todd Maher, president of Bitsource AML Solutions, a company that investigates financial crimes involving Bitcoin ATMs.
Whenever someone asks for payment at a Bitcoin ATM, Maher said, “Zero percent of the time is that legitimate.”
She is unlikely to be able to recover any of her money.