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A 67-year-old man has lost $50,000 worth of savings, the equivalent of £39,974, from a convincing scam involving Bitcoin.
The individual who is a resident of Forest County, Pennsylvania fell victim to a crypto ATM scam, according to Erie News.
In a Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) report, the Pennsylvania native was reportedly scammed out of $50,000 (£39,974) worth of Bitcoin from a Bitcoin ATM machine.
While the machine was legitimate, fraudsters employed their tactic after the transaction.
Bitcoin is considered the first cryptocurrency and is among the most popular with investors as of today.
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As part of the scam, the fraudster reportedly told the 67-year-old to buy the amount from the ATM machine.
After this, the scammer said they had to scan a QR code that was linked with the suspected fraudster’s account.
As a result, the victim lost the entirety of the $50,000 (£39,974) Bitcoin purchase as soon as the transfer was complete.
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Currently, the police are continuing to investigate the situation.
In reaction to this crime, the Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) urged the public to watch out for potential phishing scams.
Phishing is the term used to describe a particular online scam that targets consumers by sending them an e-mail that appears to be from a legitimate source.
Businesses such as internet service providers and mortgage companies are among the institutions which scammers pretend to be.
Fraudsters ask the person they are scamming to hand over personal identifying information to address an issue.
Upon receiving this information, scammers weaponise it, opening new accounts or entering the victim’s existing accounts.
The authorities are calling on people to think twice before clicking on any links they receive over email or text messages.
Those affected by any phishing scams or fraud related to crypto are encouraged to reach out to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
Victims of scams can report their case to the independent Government agency through its website.
