A retired teacher says a Bitcoin scam took her life savings — and now she might lose her home. The warning she wants everyone to hear. 7’s Heather Walker has this exclusive investigation.
Karla Kelley thought she had set herself up for a nice, comfortable retirement after 30 years of teaching.
Karla Kelley, Bitcoin ATM scam victim: “I had worked all my life to get to a point where I had no debt.”
But one phone call changed that.
Karla Kelley: “They put a fear into me, it’s like, ‘Oh, my gosh.’”
Karla says she got an email about her PayPal account and was given a phone number to call. That’s when she got the bad news.
Karla Kelley: “Your account is in jeopardy; somebody has got your identity.”
The man on the phone said her account was hacked and criminals now had access to her bank accounts. So, she needed to take steps to protect her money.
Karla Kelley: “The guy asked me how much I have in my savings account, and I said, ‘$5,000.’ He said ‘OK, take the $5,000 and put it into it,’” and he gave me a bitcoin machine.”
The man told her to take her money out of the bank and put it in bitcoin, but the man wasn’t done. Over the coming weeks, he claimed to be working with the police and said all of her bank and investment accounts were in danger of being stolen.
Heather Walker: “I know people are going to be watching and say, ‘How did she fall for this?’”
Karla Kelley: “I know it, I know it. If I was watching me, I would be saying the same thing. It’s the fear.”
Scammers use fear to steal billions of dollars from people all across the country.
Karla Kelley: “In the very beginning, they told me you cannot tell anybody because it could jeopardize the investigation. So I’m like, ‘Well, all right, the FBI knows what they are doing. I certainly don’t want to jeopardize their investigation.’ So I didn’t say anything to my daughter, my friends, and I lived with 14 months with this fear and anxiety.”
Experts say the crooks know exactly how to manipulate their victims.
Karen Murillo, AARP Florida: “This is not something to be ashamed or embarrassed about. This is a game of numbers for the scammers; they are targeting us at a crazy rate these days.”
The actual number of victims is unknown because many people never report the crime.
A police body camera was rolling as this Texas woman inserted her life savings into a bitcoin atm. Not stopping, even when the police arrived.
These Bitcoin ATMs are a huge problem. Florida has more than 3,000 of them in stores across the state, and none of them are regulated.
Karen Murillo: “These scammers are exploiting the lack of consumer protections.”
There is no daily transaction limit, and most of the time when the money is sent, it’s gone instantly — because only the scammers have access to the cryptocurrency.
Karen Murillo: “It’s devastating, and Florida needs more protections.”
AARP Florida is pushing lawmakers to regulate Bitcoin ATMs and require the owners to pay back people whose money is stolen.
It’s too late for Karla. Her money is gone, and now she could lose her home.
Karla Kelley: “I’ve raised my daughter here, we’ve had Christmas, Thanksgiving, people all out on the patio, you know, we have a lot of memories here.”
Her daughter is trying to help – using social media to raise funds and warn others. She started a GoFundMe.
Now, with help from her family and friends, Karla is trying to rebuild her life.
Karla Kelley: “I can’t blame myself because I’m a trusting person. I thought I was doing the right thing.”
Her lesson to others – if anyone asks you to put money in a bitcoin ATM – stop and call police.
Heather Walker, 7News.
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