Officials warn of Bitcoin machine scams

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (KFVS) - To keep the holidays jolly, authorities are urging people not to fall for scams involving Bitcoin machines.

It happened recently in the Heartland when an 81-year-old southern Illinois man lost his life savings to a scammer.

The ploy involves the scammer contacting the victim, hoping to trick them into giving up large amounts of money.

According to the Federal Trade Commission, consumers lost more than $110 million to this type of scam in 2023.

Sydney Waters with the Better Business Bureau said scammers like to use Bitcoin transactions in their schemes because they’re not monitored.

“What people don’t realize is these transactions are not approved by banks, so it’s really just between you and the person you’re sending the money to, and unfortunately sometimes just you and the scammer. So these are very high-risk transactions no matter what platform you’re using,” Waters said.

Waters said there are several red flags to look for, and anything unsolicited is a big one.

If a text or call comes through unexpectedly about verifying changes made to an account with a bank or business, it’s questionable.

“What they’re doing is they’re trying to get you to call and release all of your sensitive banking information, or sometimes just scare you...into transferring all of your money into a Bitcoin account to keep it safe,” Waters said.

That’s something a legitimate banker would never ask a client to do.

“The bankers are there to protect your funds, so they will never reach out to you and ask you to transfer your money into any kind of Bitcoin account to keep it safe,” Waters said.

Scammers may also impersonate a government official or someone with a delivery service. The thing to watch for is someone pushing for confirmation of personal data, through text, over the phone, or by sending a link to fill out an online form.

“Just by clicking that link, you can download malware onto your device, so you don’t even have to go any further,” Waters said. “Any hyperlinks that you get, go ahead and just block that number, call your bank directly, and let them know what’s going on.”

People can be sure they have the authentic phone number for their bank by checking the one listed on their financial statements, or by visiting BBB.org and looking at vetted phone numbers listed there.

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