03-04-2025
Couple loses thousands of dollars in Bitcoin scam
MORGAN COUNTY, Ala. (WHNT) — Charles and Dale Brown said it all started with a phone call to Dale and a tall tale to steal her money.
'I had no idea what was going on,' said Dale Brown.
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Dale Brown said that last week, a man who identified himself as a federal agent called and told her that her identity had been compromised in drug dealings and that she needed to remove money from their accounts and put it into a bitcoin account to trace the issue.
'She didn't want her name associated with drugs and they just operated on her possible guilt, I think they tried to make her feel guilty or stupid,' said Charles Brown. 'They talked her into removing money from our savings and checking account and putting it into a Bitcoin machine.'
The Bitcoin ATM machines are located at gas stations throughout Morgan County.
With the scammer still on the phone, Dale Brown jumped in her car and drove to her bank for a withdrawal before heading to Decatur to the Bitcoin ATM. Dale Brown knew her social security number as well as other personal information.
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The scammer sent her a QR code to open a Bitcoin account where she deposited $13,000 into that account.
'The scammer had me so scared and so terrified about the drug stuff and he said that they were watching me 24 hours a day and all of this stuff,' Dale Brown explained.
The Browns know that it's money that they will never get back.
Cyber security expert Steve Weisman of is issuing a warning to unsuspecting seniors who have been vulnerable to this elaborate bitcoin that is growing.
Weisman reminds that 'you will never be contacted by phone by an agent, nor should you ever download or click on a text or email message, and most of all, never answer the phone to a number you do not recognize.
'My best friend in Florida had to tell me that you did not do anything wrong,' said Dale Brown. 'She said it's nothing that we could have helped because they played on my emotions.'
News 19 was informed that there is a federal investigation since the scam involved money connected to fraud.
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