Courtenay RCMP have issued a warning after a local senior recently lost $1300 to a cryptocurrency scam.
Police say thankfully a concerned store employee stopped her from losing thousands more.
The woman in her 70s told investigators that she received a phone call from someone claiming to be from her bank.
The caller said her identity had been stolen and her accounts were compromised.
He instructed her to withdraw cash and deposit it into a Bitcoin ATM at a local business, claiming it was a secure way to protect her funds.
The woman had already deposited $1300 into the machine by the time an alert store employee called police.
An officer arrived in time to stop the senior from depositing the remaining $3700.
The victim has chosen to speak out to help protect others from falling victim. She says the scammer knew her personal details and made her believe her money wasn’t safe.
RCMP warn that money sent through Bitcoin ATMs is not like a traditional financial transaction - it is difficult to trace and nearly impossible to recover.