A VICTIM has lost thousands of dollars after a scammer convinced them they were a federal agent.
Heather Burbach, of Tampa, Florida, was shocked when she was called by someone who claimed to be an investigator with the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Heather Burbach became a victim of fraud after getting a scam call from someone who claimed to be an investigator with the Drug Enforcement AdministrationCredit: WFLA
Burbach was told to put her money in a secure government locker, which was actually a scamCredit: WFLA
“The first three minutes of the phone call, that’s when I was hooked. I got sucked in,” she told NBC affiliate WFLA.
The person on the other end accused her of drug trafficking and money laundering.
However, after denying the claims, they told her they could help her by having her move her money.
The scammers on the other end of the phone told her they had a secure locker to keep Burbach’s cash safe until things could be cleared up.
They had her take out $6,200 and bring it to a Bitcoin machine at a local convenience store.
He stayed on the phone the entire time, coaching her on what to do.
The scammer was so familiar with this box, that he told her to touch the screen right away, which would bypass any warning she might have seen.
He explained that while it might look “weird” the money was going to be secure and given back to her after an upcoming court hearing.
However, she still felt uneasy about the situation.
“I was afraid to talk on the phone,” she said.
“I went over to my sister’s house, as pale as a ghost saying I need to talk to a lawyer. I was afraid to talk to my sister.
“It was so emotional. My sister was finally able to get it out of me and said, ‘Heather, it’s a scam.’”
The Bradenton Police Department is currently investigating the incident.
Authorities revealed that they have been receiving other reports of victims who have dealt with a similar scam.
‘SECURE YOUR MONEY’
Scammers across the country have been using Bitcoin ATMs to steal from unsuspecting people.
Once money is drawn from the account of the victim, it is much harder to prove fraud was happening later.
A woman named Sue revealed that she got wrapped up in this scam as well, after she received a pop-up stating that someone was trying to steal thousands of dollars from her.
She called the number in the advertisement, and they claimed they could help.
“He said, ‘We’ve got to secure the rest of your money,’ so he had me go down, withdraw the money, $14,500, and put it in a Bitcoin machine, so that’s what I did,” she told CBS affiliate KKTV.
Sue admitted that even though she had dealt with a Bitcoin scam before, she trusted him.
“I believed him. I believed him. I really thought, ‘OK, somebody is trying to take this money out. I’ve got to secure all this money,’” she said.
For 13 days, she deposited her funds into multiple Bitcoin machines and did not talk to anybody but the man on the phone.
“He told me not to say nothing to nobody. He said my phone, my computer, everything was hacked, to where I didn’t talk to anybody,” she said.
“I didn’t tell anybody about it, not even my son.”
Sue put $204,000 into the Bitcoin wallet before she found out that it was a scam.
She admitted that the loss “devastated” her and put her in a really dark place.
“I’m just embarrassed, I really am,” she said.