Q. A good friend of mine nearly lost thousands of dollars to a scammer. Luckily, she got suspicious when her social media “friend” asked her to send him some money for an emergency. He asked her to send it to him in bitcoin. Is this common?

A.  Yes, unfortunately scams involving bitcoin are becoming more common. Your friend was smart (and lucky) to think twice about sending bitcoin to someone. This digital currency isn’t backed by the government or banks – and once you send someone a payment, there’s no way to get that money back. Nowadays, there are lots of apps and websites that allow you to buy and send bitcoin at the click of a button. There are even bitcoin ATMs popping up in gas stations and convenience stores. It’s easy for scammers to hide their true identity when using bitcoin, which makes it hard to trace. So yes, unfortunately scams involving bitcoin are becoming more common.

You don’t mention if your friend knows her social media friend in real life, but it’s also very common for scammers to send a friend request through social media, build a rapport with someone, and then ask for money for some opportunity or emergency. In other common bitcoin scams, criminals pretend to be the IRS, Medicare, or the police. They may also claim to be tech support and contact you with an offer to fix a problem with your computer.

If you ever find yourself in a situation like this, watch for these red flags:

Urgency: Scammers often try to create urgency or play on our emotions. Their messages include statements like “last chance,” “today,” or “now.”

Pressure tactics: Their messages try to get us to act by saying we might lose out on opportunities or services.
Secrecy: Scammers will offer some reason why we shouldn’t tell anyone about the opportunity or payment.

Step-by-step help: Because many of us are not familiar with how to use bitcoin, scammers will offer to help go through the steps to make a payment.

If anyone you’ve only met online asks you to send them money, that’s your sign to end the conversation. Government agencies and businesses will never demand payment in bitcoin, so if you get a message like this, it’s a scam.

Being targeted by a scammer can feel really embarrassing, but your friend shouldn’t blame herself. In fact, she did the right thing by telling you what happened. The more we can all share information about the scams that are out there, the safer we’ll all be.

If your friend needs support, help is available. The AgeSpan protective services team works directly with individuals to investigate potential financial exploitation. You can find more information on our website: www.agespan.org/solutions/safety/. The Massachusetts Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) also has a team dedicated to work on fraud complaints. Learn more about their services on their website at www.masmp.org.

Are you caring for an older adult or need help finding healthy aging resources? Our experienced staff is available to help. Visit us online at www.agespan.org. You can also call 800-892-0890 or email info@agespan.org. 

Joan Hatem-Roy is the chief executive officer of AgeSpan, which serves the following cities and towns: Amesbury, Andover, Billerica, Boxford, Chelmsford, Danvers, Dracut, Dunstable, Georgetown, Groveland, Haverhill, Lawrence, Lowell, Marblehead, Merrimac, Methuen, Middleton, Newbury, Newburyport, North Andover, Peabody, Rowley, Salisbury, Salem, Tewksbury, Tyngsboro, Westford, and West Newbury.