WATERFORD TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WXYZ) — A new campaign in Waterford Township is raising awareness among residents and putting scammers on notice.
Local police have installed prominent warning signs near Bitcoin ATMs at nearly 20 businesses to alert customers before they transfer significant amounts of money to potential fraudsters.
The move comes as an increasing number of scammers are instructing their victims to utilize Bitcoin ATMs, rendering the transactions nearly impossible for law enforcement to track.
Tony Attisha, owner of Crescent Lake Mobil, is accustomed to seeing customers handle cash, but one particular customer recently raised his concerns.
“She had a large bundle of cash, with stacks of $100 bills,” Attisha commented. “When you see an elderly woman come in with that much cash, it raises some red flags.”
He watched as the woman approached the Bitcoin ATM and swiftly began making deposits, leading him to suspect that a scam was in play.
“They’re instructed not to engage with anyone, so when we try to warn them that it’s a scam, they refuse to listen,” Attisha explained.
Unable to make progress, he contacted Waterford police, and Detective Austin Moll arrived within minutes.
“I introduced myself to her, and she stopped. We managed to retrieve $7,000 that she had already put into the machine. She was in the midst of trying to deposit over $16,000,” Moll recounted.
Moll noted that such incidents occur at least weekly in Waterford. Scammers often target victims, particularly the elderly, persuading them to withdraw cash from their bank accounts.
“In this particular case, they convinced her that the bank staff were involved in the scheme and told her to keep quiet about her transactions,” Moll elaborated.
Moll has dealt with cases involving amounts ranging from $500 to $500,000, with the vast majority of the funds ultimately lost. Due to the difficulty of tracing cryptocurrency transactions, it has become a favored method for scammers.
The Federal Trade Commission reveals that scams involving Bitcoin ATMs have surged by tenfold, totaling $114 million in losses in 2023. Individuals aged 60 and above are more than three times as likely to become victims.
“There are already some warning signs on the machines, but they often go unnoticed. I aimed to create something more noticeable that people would actually pay attention to, coming from the police department,” Moll stated.
In the past week, Moll has placed signs in front of every Bitcoin ATM in Waterford. He reports that local business owners have fully supported this initiative, all hoping to put an end to these scams.
“It could be my mom, or anyone else, with all the money they’ve worked hard for throughout their lives,” Attisha remarked. “We’ve trained all of our staff to be vigilant to ensure this doesn’t happen again.”
Here are some tips to steer clear of scams:
- Do not click on links or respond to unexpected calls, messages, or pop-up notifications
- Take your time: scammers want to rush you
- Never withdraw cash based on an unexpected call or message
- Legitimate businesses and government agencies will never ask for payment exclusively in Bitcoin or gift cards
