A Plymouth man lost $37,000 in a sophisticated cryptocurrency scam that began with a fake security alert on his laptop. The victim, Steven Cooke, was contacted by impersonators claiming to be from Apple and Chase Bank, who pressured him into depositing cash into a Bitcoin ATM. Police warn that such scams are common and rely on creating fear and urgency to prompt victims to act quickly.
A Plymouth man has shared how he lost $37,000 in a crypto scam after trusting a fake security alert. The incident started when he received a warning on his laptop screen claiming his device had been hacked.
The victim, Steven Cooke said the call started with a woman who claimed to be from Apple Security. She told him that his identity had been stolen and that some illegal activity was linked to his account, which caused him to panic. During the call, the scammers tried to gain his trust by mentioning details of his credit cards.
A second caller later joined and pretended to be from Chase Bank. He told Cooke that money had already been taken from his account and that there was a way to recover it if he acted quickly.
Cooke was instructed to withdraw $37,000 from his bank account and deposit the cash into a Bitcoin ATM. Even though he had doubts, he stayed on the call and followed the instructions under continued pressure from the scammers.
At one point, while sitting in his car, he began to question the situation and realized something was wrong. After returning home, Cooke contacted the real Chase Bank using an official number and confirmed the entire situation was a scam.
Police say this type of crypto scam is common and often targets people by creating fear and urgency. They warn that scammers rely on emotional pressure to make victims act quickly without thinking.
