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Posted

I have an elderly family member who was scammed out of a nice chunk of money with Bitcoin being involved.

I know nothing about Bitcoin except what I can Google so I am of little to no help in possibly getting the money back. BUT, what I was able to Google and what the story is, there may be a possibility of her getting her money back. Below is what I know about the Bitcoin part of the scam:

She was told to go get lots of cash and was then told to go to a certain location that had a Bitcoin ATM. She was told to follow the instructions on the ATM. She inserted the money and had to show her drivers license and some other stuff and was sent a receipt and was sent a QR code, and that was it, she left the location with the digital receipt and QR code on her phone.

From what I read on Google, she would not have been able to purchase the Bitcoin without having an app which has the digital wallet that the Bitcoin goes into. She never set up a wallet to put the Bitcoin into, so was the Bitcoin actually sent to the scammers or is it in digital currency limbo until she sets up a wallet?

I told her that her money is most likely gone and never to be returned, but if she by some kind of luck mucked up the transaction and can get her money back, I would like to know how to possibly help her. Thanks for any help with this matter, as I am dumb with regards to Bitcoin.

Posted
1 minute ago, Pato del Muerto said:

They have her (let’s be real it’s you right?) DL now too. Brilliant. ATM?

Bitcoin ATMs are a thing in SoCal.  They are in every shady gas station and liquor store. 

  • Haha 2
Posted

time for granny to lose her internet access. 

not kidding. 

 

I’m dealing with two elderly family members, both have the old timers, and this is my biggest concern for both of them. Even more than wandering off.

 

  • Like 1
Posted
7 minutes ago, Pato del Muerto said:

They have her (let’s be real it’s you right?) DL now too. Brilliant. ATM?

No, not me fortunately.  According to the googles, you have to show your drivers license when buying bitcoin from coinflip.  I do not know what type she used, but she did have to show the DL.  Since she did not have a digital wallet, where did the money go?  

Posted
time for granny to lose her internet access. 
not kidding. 
 
I’m dealing with two elderly family members, both have the old timers, and this is my biggest concern for both of them. Even more than wandering off.
 

I’m glad my mom is smart enough not to believe bullshit on the internet
Posted

The scammers had to have given her a wallet (address) to send the funds to.  Or the  QR code leads to some auto-generated wallet and by sending that QR code to the scammers they drained it.  Scan the code to see what happens maybe

  • Like 1
Posted
25 minutes ago, gyroprotagonist said:

The scammers had to have given her a wallet (address) to send the funds to.  Or the  QR code leads to some auto-generated wallet and by sending that QR code to the scammers they drained it.  Scan the code to see what happens maybe

I will have to ask her to see what she did once she received the receipt and the QR code.  I really didn't know what questions to ask since I have no idea how the Bitcoin stuff works.  

Posted

The Bitcoin is gone. Most likely the QR code is the wallet. Bitcoin balances live on the online ledger. They never exist on a wallet in your pocket or USB drive. You basically need a password to get to the coins and the QR code was the wallet/qr code combo.

On the off chance the scammers didn’t get qr code picture, I would quickly learn from the ATM company how to transfer the bitcoin from the paperwork they provided her.

what was the scam? Was it where someone convinced grandma that they transferred $10,000 to her when it was supposed to be $100. And how they would lose their job if she didn’t “refund” them $9900?

Posted

If you never thought in a million years she would fall for something like this, there is a chance she is beginning to have dementia. Falling for things like this is a warning sign.  

And the bitcoin is gone. The money is lost. 

  • Hook 'Em 2
  • Like 2
Posted

Yep. She will be buying cards at Walmart or Walgreens next. These fuckers prey on old people
I was at a Walgreens the other day and the manager was train his employees to look for this stuff. It’s sad

Posted

We took away mom's credit/debit cards and checks for this reason. People are evil and take advantage of stupid/cognitively diminished people (no offense). Has always been and will always be. All one can do is try to mitigate the risk of a family member's ability to be taken advantage of. Sometimes you can't which really sucks. 

Posted
2 hours ago, Updawg said:


I’m glad my mom is smart enough not to believe bullshit on the internet

There are "smart" people who believe aggy has a chance to get into the S.E.C. - S.E.C. - S.E.C. Conference championship Game, so... there's that.

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