WPD Officer Foils Elderly Woman's Cryptocurrency Scam Loss
A Wilmington Police Department officer is being hailed as a hero after preventing an elderly woman from losing $10,000 to a cryptocurrency scam.
The incident occurred on July 27 when the officer stopped at a local gas station for a business check. The officer noticed a woman in her 90s standing at a bitcoin kiosk with thousands of dollars in cash while speaking on her phone.
The officer immediately recognized several red flags associated with cryptocurrency scams and intervened before the transaction could be completed.
The scammers had instructed the victim to withdraw cash and deposit it into the bitcoin machine, claiming to be a technical support company. The officer took the phone to speak directly with the scammers, preventing the transfer from going through.