A 68-year-old Lancaster County woman lost thousands of dollars after receiving a call from a man claiming to be with the DEA. “He made her believe that she was a major suspect in a cocaine investigation out of Texas,” says Lancaster County Sheriff’s Chief Deputy Ben Houchin.
He says the woman was also told she could serve seven years in prison. “He then informed her if she paid a certain amount of cash she would be given a new social security number and the situation would be handled quickly.”
Houchin says the woman then withdrew $11,800 from her checking account and was instructed to put it into a bitcoin ATM. The man then gave her a QR code which allowed him to obtain the money. That was the last time she heard from the man.
“We feel bad for her, we’ll do everything we can for her, but it’s very difficult,” Houchin says.