On Your Side: Camdenton, Mo., woman loses $11,500 in bitcoin scam

(KY3)—It all started when Michele Meikle was scrolling on Facebook and saw a cute animal video. Meikle says she clicked on something, probably a link in that video post, and suddenly lost control of her computer.

“There was this electronic voice you could hear all through the house yelling at me,” said Meikle.

Meikle says she did what she was told. There was a phone number on her screen.

“I called the number, and the man who answered said he was from Microsoft. He used the name of an actual Microsoft employee that you can look up online,” said Meikle.

She regained access to her computer but was then told there was another problem—a fraud alert from her bank.

“My debit card was involved with the purchase of child pornography. They said I needed to withdraw money from my account and go to an FCC-authorized machine that would verify my ID,” she said.

That so called authorized machine was at a nearby gas station.

“It turned out to be a bitcoin machine. I was a victim because I know absolutely nothing about Bitcoin,” she said.

Bitcoin is a digital currency that can be sent to another person. She sent three transactions totaling $11,500.

“Bitcoin transactions are not traceable. There ought to be a law,” she said.

From the very beginning, it was all a hoax. Her accounts took a hit, but Michele says she’ll be okay.

“God always takes care of me,” she said.

She filed a police report and is working with her bank to open new accounts and recover from ID theft.

If you accidentally click on something, shut down your computer. If it doesn’t look right, take it to a professional.

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