Fortunately, a quick-thinking bank manager at Chase Bank in Westlake intervened and stopped the transaction just in time.
RED FLAGS
The couple was misled into believing they owed money for a warrant allegedly issued by the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Office.
They went to the bank to withdraw the money, intending to buy gift cards or deposit it in a cryptocurrency ATM.
These are both extremely common red flags in similar scam operations.
But the bank manager noticed something was wrong and immediately notified the Westlake Police Department.
Captain Jerry Vogel elaborated: “The customers did figure out they were going to be scammed if they took this money out and bought gift cards or put it into a crypto ATM.”
Unfortunately, not everyone has been so lucky.
According to police, two other recent scams involving cryptocurrency ATMs in the Westlake area have cost more than $25,000 in losses.
MORE SCAMS
In one case, a woman looking for customer service online discovered a phone number for what she assumed was Microsoft.
The phone number, however, belonged to a scammer who had manipulated the search results, a technique known as’search engine poisoning.’
After convincing her to grant remote access to her computer, the scammer threatened her with accusations that she had visited illegal websites and that her money was at risk.
She was instructed to withdraw $40,000 and deposit it into a Bitcoin ATM at a gas station to ‘protect’ her funds.
Although a store employee stepped in to warn her, it was too late; she had already lost $20,000.
In a separate incident, a man received a call from someone claiming to be from the Social Security Administration.
He was instructed to deposit $5,500 into a Bitcoin ATM at a nearby convenience store.
That store’s owner stated that they intend to remove the ATM entirely to help prevent future scams.
STAY AWARE
Captain Vogel warns the public to be on high alert.
“I just advise you to be very wary of anything that directs you to buy gift cards or put cash into an ATM,” he told reporters.
“Especially the cryptocurrency ATMs.”
Police advise residents to verify suspicious calls and never make payments with gift cards or cryptocurrency machines, as these are common tactics used by scammers to make money untraceable.
