NEWBURYPORT, Mass. — The Newburyport Police Department says an officer recently helped prevent a woman from losing over $10,000 as part of a scam.
On Tuesday, a 75-year-old woman approached a police officer at a gas station on Storey Avenue and said that she believed she may be getting scammed.
The woman said that someone who claimed to be a government agent called her, recited personal information about her and told her to deposit money into a Bitcoin ATM machine.
Officer Kelley and the woman phoned the caller back but the individual immediately hung up when the officer got on the phone.
The 75-year-old woman told the officer that she had driven from Maine in search of a Bitcoin ATM machine and that she had withdrawn $11,000 in cash out of fear.
Newburyport police say cash is usually impossible to retrieve from a Bitcoin ATM machine and arrests are rare.
Newburyport police say Inspector Dani Sinclair has been working on a proposed City bylaw that would ban Bitcoin ATMs from the city.
“Most people don’t even know what Bitcoin ATMs are for, and we mostly only hear about them when they are used to transmit funds to scammers,” said City Marshal Matthew Simons. “These machines provide little service to residents, but represent a real threat to public safety by providing a quick and easy way for residents to be separated from their hard-earned money. I thank Inspector Sinclair and Patrolman Kelley for their work these matters.”
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.
Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
©2026 Cox Media Group
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/7QOJU3BNCJERBNKJC5LWTBYFLU.png)
