Walton County woman loses $129,500 in Bitcoin scam
WALTON COUNTY, Fla. (WMBB) – The Walton County Sheriff's Office received a call last weekend from a 77-year-old woman, who realized she was a fraud victim.
She says it began with unsolicited calls from someone claiming to represent a bank. They instructed her to withdraw $129,500 from her bank account, then deposit it into a local Bitcoin ATM machine, commonly found in convenience stores.
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'Unfortunately, she made the transaction. At that point, it was too late. Because, as we know, Bitcoin is, once it's the transaction has been completed, the Bitcoin is pretty much gone. There's no way to recover it,' Walton County Sheriff's Office Crime Prevention Specialist Ted Toedte.
As the machine warns, all Bitcoin transactions are irreversible. The victim is unlikely to get that money back.
The Walton County Sheriff's Office Crime Prevention division sees scams like this often, but not one of this size.
'I would have to say it's probably the largest type of fraud that we've had in our counties,' Toedte said.
They are actively working on the case, and say the suspect is likely from overseas.
'These cases do lead out of the county because they don't really stem from in the county. Sometimes it's done from overseas. So it makes it really tough for us to investigate these types of cases at a local level,' Toedte said.
Scammers use fear, trust, and greed to manipulate their victims. They prey on senior citizens.
'Senior citizens generally have you know, they've saved up a lot of money. They've worked their whole life and they have, you know, a good amount of money, some more than others. And unfortunately, that makes for a good target for these scammers when our seniors are not informed,' Toedte said.
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Toedte says the best way to stay safe from scams is to stay educated. The Sheriff's Office started a program called the Ray of Hope Senior Coalition, to educate the public to avoid scams.
The program will be at the Life Enrichment Center in Defuniak Springs this Thursday at 11 a.m. If you are interested in attending, you can call (850) 892-8746.
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