Scammers pose as trusted bank officials and pressure victims to withdraw cash and send it through untraceable methods like Bitcoin.
They create urgency and coach victims, making it hard for banks to intervene — even when it looks suspicious.
Protect yourself by slowing down, verifying calls directly with your bank, and never moving money based on someone else’s instructions.
The scam often starts with a phone call. A scammer pretends to be from your bank’s fraud department and claims there’s suspicious activity on your account. Then they create fake urgency and tell you not to talk to anyone else about it, including bank employees.
The Investigations Team at CBS-13 in Portland, Maine, recently did a fantastic report on this scam. They reported that victims are instructed to go to their bank, withdraw large amounts of cash, and move the money. They’ll often insist on you depositing it into a Bitcoin ATM, or sending it in ways that are nearly impossible to trace.
In some cases, victims have withdrawn $20,000 or more without being stopped.
Who’s behind these scams?
The people running these scams are often part of a larger organized fraud operation.
But what really matters isn’t who they are, it’s more about how they present themselves.
Scammers are trained to sound convincing. They often pose as:
- Your bank’s fraud department
- Law enforcement or government agencies
- Tech support or financial security teams
Why this scam is so effective
This scam works so well because it flips your instincts against you.
- You think you’re simply protecting your account.
- You’re told to act quickly, which causes confusion.
- You’re discouraged from asking questions.
Scammers often coach elderly victims on exactly what to say if a bank employee asks about the withdrawal, making it harder for staff to step in.
And because the transaction is technically authorized by you, banks have limited ability to stop it if you insist everything is fine.
Many banks are stepping in to help
The state of Maine introduced legislation in 2025 that allows banks to delay certain transactions made by elderly customers if they suspect they might be part of a scam.
It’s a step in the right direction as many financial institutions in the past didn’t prevent, or question, a customer from withdrawing large amounts of cash.
It’s a fine line between respecting the customer’s privacy, but still trying to protect them from a scam. Now, many banks are training tellers to spot red flags and build trust with customers, so they can have a private conversation when they feel it might be warranted.
How to protect yourself (and stop this before it starts)
This scam is very preventable, but only if you slow down and take control of the situation.
1. Break the urgency immediately. If someone is pressuring you to act fast, that’s your first red flag. Pause. Even waiting 10–15 minutes can help you think clearly and break their control.
2. Hang up and verify independently. Never trust a phone call, even if the caller ID looks like it’s from your bank. Call your bank directly using the number on your debit card or their official website. Do NOT call back the number that contacted you.
3. Be completely honest with your bank. If you go into a branch and something feels off, tell the teller exactly what’s happening. If you simply repeat what a scammer told you to say, it limits their ability to intervene.
4. Never move money based on instructions from a caller. This is the biggest rule. No legitimate bank, government agency, or company will ever ask you to:
- Withdraw large amounts of cash
- Deposit money into a Bitcoin ATM
- Buy gift cards to “secure” your account
If you’re asked to do any of these, it’s 100% a scam.
5. Use built-in protections from your bank. Many banks now offer extra safeguards:
- Set up a trusted contact who can be alerted if something looks suspicious.
- Enable transaction alerts for large withdrawals.
- Ask about fraud flags or temporary holds on unusual activity.
These tools create an extra layer of protection when you might not catch it yourself.