Apr 14, 2025
One Ohio couple was nearly tricked out of $17,000 — before a Chase Bank manager in Westlake stepped in and foiled the scammer’s plan.
The bank manager became suspicious and alerted police when the couple tried to withdraw the cash to pay for what they thought was a warrant from the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Office.
Advertisement
“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,” Captain Jerry Vogel of the Westlake Police Department told News 5 Cleveland in a story published March 28.
Thanks for subscribing!
Read the best of Moneywise in 5 minutes or less.
By signing up, you accept Moneywise Terms of Use, Subscription Agreement, and Privacy Policy.
It seems this type of scam isn’t a rare occurrence. The local broadcaster reports two other instances of fraud involving cryptocurrency machines have occurred recently in Westlake. Victims in those cases lost more than $25,000.
Here’s what happened, along with steps to protect yourself from being victimized.
How local residents are getting scammed
In one incident, the scammer posed as a Microsoft customer support representative after the victim called a phone number she found while doing a Google search. This is referred to as “search engine poisoning,” where cybercriminals manipulate search engine results so a malicious website (which looks legitimate) appears on the page.
Vogel says the victim was tricked into giving the fake employee access to her computer and was scared into thinking she had visited illegal websites that were trying to steal her money. She was instructed to withdraw $40,000 from her bank and deposit it into a gas station Bitcoin ATM to protect her funds. An attendant at the gas station took notice and warned her it was a scam, according to News 5, but not before she lost $20,000.
In another incident, police say the victim got a call from what he thought was the Social Security Administration directing him to deposit $5,500 in a Bitcoin ATM at a convenience store. In the wake of the scam, the owner of the shop told News 5 they planned to remove the machine.
“I just advise you to be very wary of anything that directs you to buy gift cards or put cash into an ATM,” Vogel said. “Especially the cryptocurrency ATMs.”
Must Read
- The ultra-rich use these 5 real estate strategies to build wealth while they sleep — you can start with just $100
- Here’s the average income of Americans by age in 2026. Are you keeping up or falling behind?
- Insurance companies profit most from drivers who auto-renew without shopping around. Comparing 100+ quotes takes 2 minutes and costs nothing
Join 250,000+ readers and get Moneywise’s best stories and exclusive interviews first — clear insights curated and delivered weekly. Subscribe now.
How to protect yourself from financial scams
Fraud losses involving Bitcoin ATMs topped $65 million in the first half of 2024, according to a report from the Federal Trade Commission. Consumers over the age of 60 were “three times as likely as younger adults to report losing money to Bitcoin ATM scams.” The median loss across all age groups was $10,000.
When it comes to financial scams, there are usually some red flags. They often start with an unsolicited call, email, text or social media message asking for money or personal information (such as bank account details or passwords).
Advertisement
Scammers also use high-pressure tactics to create a sense of urgency designed to make you panic — such as impersonating the authorities or claiming you have a virus on your computer. This is followed by a request for money, commonly through unconventional methods like gift cards, prepaid credit cards, a wire transfer or cryptocurrency. If you’re panicked enough, you may not stop to consider the validity of this request.
“If someone’s calling you out of the blue demanding money, threatening you, and it has to do with Bitcoin, it’s going to be a scam,” cybersecurity expert Alex Hamerstone told News 5.
For example, “the police don’t generally call you and tell you they want to arrest you, right? They come to the door,” he said. As for the IRS, “they’ll never take your tax payment using gift cards.”
If you get a call or email from someone claiming to work for an institution, such as your bank or the police department, and they ask for personal information or a sum of money, don’t take action. Instead, call them up yourself to confirm their story and verify a real employee tried to contact you.
You can learn more about common scams on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau website or report a scam to the Federal Trade Commission.
You May Also Like
- JP Morgan sees gold hitting $6,000/oz before 2027 — and a Gold IRA lets you hold the physical metal while deferring the tax bill. Get your free guide from Priority Gold
- Dave Ramsey warns nearly 50% of Americans are making 1 big Social Security mistake — here’s what it is and the simple steps to fix it ASAP
- Thanks to Jeff Bezos, you can now become a landlord for as little as $100 — and no, you don't have to deal with tenants or fix freezers. Here's how
- Millionaires under 43 are reshaping investing — just 25% of their portfolios are in stocks. Here’s where their money is going
Vawn Himmelsbach is a veteran journalist who covers tech, business, finance and travel. Her work has been featured in publications such as The Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, National Post, CBC News, Yahoo Finance, MSN, CAA Magazine, Travelweek, Explore Magazine and Consumer Reports.
