A police officer in White Settlement, Texas foiled a scam where an impersonator posing as a Chase Bank representative convinced an elderly woman to withdraw $40,000 and deposit it into a Bitcoin ATM. The White Settlement Police Department (WSPD) received a call from a concerned citizen who witnessed the woman depositing a large sum of cash into a Bitcoin ATM and overheard her suspicious phone conversation.
According to the WSPD, the scammer used a common tactic of threatening the victim with arrest if she didn’t comply. The victim also believed the caller ID displaying “Chase Bank” and was deceived into thinking it was a genuine employee. The scammer arranged for transportation to a local Chase Bank where the victim withdrew the money and then took her to a convenience store housing a Bitcoin ATM to deposit the funds.
Dashcam footage released by the police department shows an officer intervening in the conversation and preventing the scammer from further manipulating the victim. Unfortunately, the woman had already deposited $23,900 into the crypto ATM. Authorities are now collaborating with government officials in an attempt to recover the funds and return them to the victim.
Sergeant James Stewart, the officer who responded to the call, expressed empathy for the elderly victim, drawing parallels to his own mother. Meanwhile, Chief of Police Christopher Cook expressed gratitude towards the concerned citizen who reported the incident and announced plans to acknowledge their actions at a future council meeting.