Seniors in an affluent S.C. community face off against crypto scammers

Residents of Beaufort County, South Carolina, reported $3.1 million in losses from crypto scams, including ones involving bitcoin ATMs, last year alone.

HILTON HEAD, S.C. — Marianne, a retired health care worker, was on her way to a breakfast date with her girlfriends in November when her phone rang.

The caller, who said he was with the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office, told her she was in contempt of court for missing jury duty and facing jail time. He connected her to his supervisor, who said she could pay a $7,500 bond to remain free until her court date. 

Initially skeptical, Marianne, 66, eventually withdrew the sum, a mix of $50 and $100 bills, from her bank and followed their instructions to feed the cash into a Coinstar ATM at a local Food Lion grocery store.   

But the money Marianne thought was keeping her out of jail was converted to cryptocurrency and transferred to a scammer’s digital wallet.

Then the supposed sheriff’s officer, still on the phone, told her she needed to pay $3,000 more.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/south-carolina-seniors-crypto-scam-bitcoin-atm-rcna189176

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