A police officer in White Settlement, Texas, thwarted a scam in progress, saving an elderly woman from losing $40,000 to a Chase Bank impersonator.
The scam involved tricking the woman into depositing money into a Bitcoin ATM machine.
On June 19, the White Settlement Police Department (WSPD) received a call from a concerned citizen who witnessed an elderly woman depositing large sums of cash into a Bitcoin ATM.
The citizen became suspicious after overhearing the woman’s phone conversation and believed she was being scammed.
According to the WSPD, the scammer threatened the victim with arrest if she didn’t transfer the funds, a common tactic in “pig butchering” scams.
The scammer’s caller ID displayed “Chase Bank,” leading the woman to believe she was speaking with a bank employee.
The perpetrator arranged for a ride service to take the woman to a local Chase Bank to withdraw the money.
Subsequently, she was directed to a convenience store to deposit the cash into a Bitcoin ATM.
Dashcam footage released by the police shows an officer intervening and taking over the phone conversation.
Despite the Chase Bank impersonator’s continued attempts to complete the scam, the WSPD successfully halted further transactions.
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Although the police prevented additional losses, the woman had already deposited $23,900 into the crypto ATM.
Authorities are now collaborating with government officials to recover the funds and return them to the victim.
Sergeant James Stewart, the responding officer, expressed a personal connection to the case, saying, “All I could do is visualize my mom in this case. […] I wish we could find this guy and place him behind bars for a very long time because he is probably doing this to other people.”
Chief of Police Christopher Cook praised the vigilant citizen who reported the incident, stating that the department plans to recognize this individual at a future council meeting.
The quick action of both the concerned citizen and the police officer was crucial in preventing the elderly woman from losing her life savings to the scammer.
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