Online scams are nothing new, last year in Michigan alone over 500,000 people were victims of some form of online scam.

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According to The Grand Traverse County Sheriff's Office, an elderly Michigan couple is now out $350,000 after this ATM scam

Michigan couple Is Out $350,000 After ATM Scam

The Grand Traverse County Sheriff's Office received more than 30 Calls for Fraud which included several calls for scams that started from a phone call or the internet in July.

One of those calls was from an elderly Traverse City couple who got scammed out of $350,000 and it appears that money is gone forever. Lt. Brandon Brinks of the Grand Traverse Sheriff's Office told UpperMichiganSource

It’s frustrating to lose money, but it’s also when you see people taken advantage of it’s difficult to watch.

 

How Did The Couple Get Scammed Out Of The Money?

The couple made multiple withdrawals from different banks in order to transfer money to Coin Flip, an ATM that used bitcoin. Lt. Brinks said that $350,000 is the highest amount he’s ever seen someone get scammed out of.

How Does A Coin Flip ATM Works?

Will Police Be Able To Track Down Money?

Lt. Brinks said that because of the lack of documentation and the lack of paperwork that they have, there’s really no way for us to trace that money once it’s gone.

How Did The Scam Happen?

The elderly couple recived an alert on their computer with a message to call a number. They thought they were calling Apple support but in fact, it was a scammer.

How To Avoid Being Scammed

One way to prevent being scammed is to call a business directly from a number listed on their website. Lt. Brinks says one of the biggest indicators that something is a scam is if they try to prevent the caller from hanging up and calling back.

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