The Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a fraud that resulted in a woman losing over $11,000.
According to Chief Deputy Ben Houchin, a 68-year-old woman from southeast Lancaster County reported receiving a call from a man claiming to be with the Drug Enforcement Administration.
The man convinced her that she was a primary suspect in a cocaine investigation in Texas and could face up to seven years in prison. He told her that if she paid a certain amount, she would receive a new Social Security number, and the matter would be resolved.
The victim withdrew $11,800 from her checking account and was instructed to deposit the money into a bitcoin ATM using a QR code provided by the man, which allowed him to access the funds.
After the transaction, the man ceased all communication. The email address he provided ended in “dea.gov.gmail.com,” which Houchin noted is not a valid government email address.
The scam is still under investigation, but Houchin emphasized that once money is sent in such scams, it is very challenging to recover it.