HINGHAM — A 76-year-old resident lost $30,000 to scammers who convinced him his bank account was compromised, police said.
The victim reported the fraud to Hingham police on Monday, March 24, explaining that the incident had occurred two weeks earlier.
According to police, scammers contacted the man claiming his computer was infected with malware and that money in his Hingham bank was at risk.
The scammers instructed him to withdraw $30,000 in cash from his bank, warning him not to tell bank employees about the situation because one was allegedly “corrupt.”
After withdrawing the money, the victim was directed to deposit the cash into what scammers called an “FDIC machine to keep his money safe.”
When the man asked where to find such a machine, the scammers directed him to a gas station in Norwell where he found a Bitcoin machine.
The scammers convinced him it was a “duel machine” that would protect his funds, leading him to deposit the entire $30,000 into a Bitcoin account.
The fraud continued when scammers instructed the man to convert an additional $35,000 from his stocks into cash and deposit it into his bank account.
The victim became suspicious when told someone would come to his home to collect the money “to keep it safe,” at which point he realized it was a scam and contacted his bank.
Police said scammers typically keep victims on the phone throughout the process, sometimes for 2-3 hours, to prevent them from verifying information with others.
