'I never thought it would happen to us': Oklahoma woman loses $20,000 to Bitcoin scam
PONCA CITY, Okla. (KFOR) — An elderly Oklahoma woman found herself caught up in a growing scam involving cryptocurrency.
It all started with an unexpected email, saying 'your Bitcoin transaction was finalized, processed and securely authorized.'
"I received a text from my mom that said, 'Jamie, I think I'm being scammed' and I said, 'Don't fall for it, I get those emails all the time,'" said Jamie Moore.
Moore's 77-year-old mother Marsha, who has Parkinson's and Multiple Myeloma, fell for the scam.
She called the number listed in the email to tell them she didn't make the Bitcoin purchase, and that phone call cost her nearly everything.
"She was on the phone for probably five hours, he stayed on the phone with her," said Moore.
The scammer claimed to be a federal agent and told Moore that her identity was stolen and that to protect her money she needed to withdraw cash from her bank account.
She was also told to keep the situation private and not tell the bank or her daughter what was going on.
"She had been coached by this FBI guy not to trust anybody and told the teller that she was having her house remodeled and she needed $20,000, wiped out her entire savings account," said Moore.
After withdrawing $20,000, the scammer instructed her to go to a liquor store in Ponca City, about a 45 minute drive. She was told to deposit the cash into a Bitcoin ATM that was inside the store.
"She immediately called me afterward. It's like she came out of this trance and realized she'd been scammed," said Moore.
Moore says she's even done workshops in the past about scams and that her mother knew what to look for.
"I never thought it would happen to us and she's humiliated, she's embarrassed, she's doubting her choices and she's a smart woman, she's bright and so it's heartbreaking," said Moore.
The family filed a police report, but says the chances of getting the money back seems slim.
"We did hear from the FBI and they said it's a really sophisticated outfit out of Nigeria and it's just hard to believe that she took 200, $100 bills from her bank that were marked and put them in a Bitcoin machine and they can't just go and get that and give this back to her," said Moore.
While it's a $20,000 lesson, the family hopes to help others avoid being scammed.
"You don't have to be an elderly person for this to happen to," said Moore.
The Federal Trade Commission says these types of imposter scams are very common and have been on the rise in recent years. They also say the cryptocurrency piece is a growing concern.
In 2023, consumers reported losing more than $1.4 billion in scams where they paid with cryptocurrency.
In just the first nine months of 2024, that number is already over $1 billion.
For more information on these types of scams, click here.