Torrance, CA asked in Banking, Identity Theft, Internet Law and Social Security for California

Q: I was a victim of a Social Security scam. I withdrew 25K in cash and deposited it via bitcoin. Can I get my funds back?

Someone called me pretending to be a Social Security officer and claimed that my SSN was linked to drug trafficking, money laundering, and that there was a warrant out for my arrest. He had an accomplice that spoofed his caller ID to make it look as though he was calling from my local Department. They had me withdraw 25K in cash from two different Bank of America locations, and then deposit the funds at 4 different bitcoin ATMs with the promise that the funds would be transferred to a secure account and that I would receive a check the next day. I'm getting told that Bitcoin transactions are irreversible and that because I withdrew the money in cash, that I have no recourse. Please, is there anything that I can do to get my money back?

1 Lawyer Answer
Bruce Alexander Minnick
Bruce Alexander Minnick
Answered
  • Business Law Lawyer
  • Tallahassee, FL

A: Probably not. Thousands of gullible Americans fall prey to "get rich quick" scams like this every day of the week. If you have the name or any other information about who any of these scammers are--or the names of the banks involved--there are experienced lawyers who can try to trace the scammers and gather enough information about them to report the scam to the state and federal agencies that regulate the banks and hunt done scammers. Look for an experienced banking lawyer here using Justia's Find a Lawyer tab.

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