MESA, AZ — A Mesa senior lost thousands of dollars to a scammer, but Arizona's new cryptocurrency fraud prevention law is helping her recover some of her money.
The Let ABC15 Know team first reported on the new law last August. Heidy sat down with ABC15 to explain how this all happened.
"I can barely talk about it. I am afraid of opening emails. I'm afraid of unknown calls," Heidy said while fighting back tears, “It’s going to take time to heal.”
The 68-year-old says this all started with an email that looked like it was from Norton, the cybersecurity company, but it was sent to Heidy’s co-worker.
The email stated Heidy was being charged $399. Heidy says she had signed up for Norton antivirus protection the week before, but it was supposed to be a monthly subscription plan, not a one-time payment.
“I went online and looked for the Norton phone number, and I dialed the number that first popped,” Heidy recalled.
She says she told the man who answered about the email that her co-worker received.
“He said, ‘Ma’am in order for me to refund that money to you, I’ll have to send you a form for you to fill.’ I started to fill it, and then all of a sudden the computer like blinked and there was $40,000 there. And I said, ‘Oh my god.’ And he said, ‘What happened ma’am?’ And I said, ‘The computer typed $40,000 and I don’t know what happened.’ And he said, ‘Ma’am do you know how bad this is? You know I can lose my job over this. We need to fix this,’” Heidy explained.
She says the scammer gave her two options for "returning" the money: let her bank account be frozen for four months while the banks sorted out what happened, or withdraw cash herself and follow his instructions.
"He said, ‘Well, there is another way you can go to the bank and get the money, and I'll tell you what to do,’" Heidy said.
She says he instructed her to visit three different bank locations to withdraw money, and he told her that if any bank tellers asked what the cash was for, she should tell them she needed it for home renovations.
"Were you on the phone with him the entire time?" asked ABC15.
"Entire time," Heidy replied, "and if I lost him, he would contact me. He would call me again right away."
Heidy says she was then directed to deposit the money into Bitcoin ATMs. She had to go to three different Bitcoin ATMs due to the new daily transaction limits.
When that wasn't enough, the scammer arranged an in-person meeting at a gas station in Mesa where Heidy would hand over even more cash.
"You think that it's only cyber. They are here already in Arizona, and they are going around and doing all these things to people, honest people," Heidy said.
But thankfully, this is not where Heidy’s story ends. Because of Arizona’s new Cryptocurrency Kiosk License Fraud Prevention Law, which took effect in September, Heidy is now working with the Arizona Attorney General’s Office to recover some of her money from the Bitcoin companies.
"If you believe that you have been scammed, and that scam went through a Bitcoin ATM machine, you have 30 days to ask for your money back," Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes said.
According to the Attorney General’s office, in 2024 alone, Arizonans lost over $177 million in savings to fraudulent schemes involving cryptocurrency ATMs.
It’s been more than three months since she lost all that money, but Heidy says she’s now in the process of getting some of it back. She says so far, one of the Bitcoin companies has approved her refund.
"I felt relieved, because at least I was going to get some of my money back. But it's really a process. Really takes a while," Heidy explained, "Those who lost everything like me, you know, and they are devastated, can't do anything. At least I have the relief that I can get part of my money.”
How to file for a Bitcoin ATM scam refund
Step 1: File a report with your local police department about being scammed and obtain your police report number.
Step 2: File a report with the Arizona Attorney General's Office using their new fraud complaint form specifically for crypto ATM fraud victims.
This week, Attorney General Kris Mayes added a new fraud complaint option specifically for victims who qualify for these refunds.
Some other things to know
You'll need your receipts from your Bitcoin ATM transactions. The law only applies to new Bitcoin ATM customers, and claims must be filed within 30 days of the transaction.
Heidy filed her report with the Attorney General's Office, and she says they then reached out to her, and they have been helping her contact the Bitcoin companies for refunds.
"They're there for you, and it's good to know that there's somebody working for you," Heidy said.
Attorney General Mayes says this legislation is just the beginning when it comes to holding Bitcoin ATM operators accountable for these scams.
"I think there's a level of culpability and responsibility on the part of the Bitcoin ATM owners for these scams. They know it's going on. You know, it's not like they don't see it. They're seeing it and just turning a blind eye to it," Mayes said. "I will be in the future, looking at what are the different ways that we can hold them accountable for the criminal activity on their platform."
As a reminder, if anyone asks you to deposit money into a Bitcoin ATM, you should be very cautious because there's a good chance you're being scammed.
Do you have a consumer problem and you need help? Let ABC15 Know! Email Consumer@abc15.com.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
