Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News)- A Rochester woman is out $30,000 after she fell victim to a Bitcoin scam.
Rochester Police Captain Casey Moilanen said the 71-year-old woman reported the scam on Tuesday. She said the scammer was posing as an Amazon employee and contacted her by phone on March 30 concerning her bank account.
Moilanen said the scammer gave the woman an Amazon employee ID number and told the victim her bank account was being hacked by someone in Europe and that she must withdraw her funds. She was instructed to use her funds to buy bitcoin and relay the information to the caller.
The woman told police she complied with the demands and withdrew $15,000 from her account twice. She then bought $30,000 in bitcoin and shared the information with the scammer.
Moilanen said the victim is not likely to recoup her losses because of the difficulties associated with withdrawing money from bitcoin. He’s asking the community to watch out for Cryptocurrency scams.
