While detectives were still in her living room, a 79-year-old woman in Manatee County, Florida, received yet another call from the people who had already taken more than $200,000 from her in a crypto scam — this time to arrange a new $30,000 pickup.
What happened?
As Moneywise reported, that follow-up call came while investigators were interviewing the woman, allowing them to turn the planned pickup into an undercover sting.
Investigators said the scheme ultimately took more than $3.5 million from at least 40 elderly victims across Florida.
Authorities traced the case back to July 2025, when a Manatee County man reported getting a call from someone posing as a representative of the Federal Trade Commission.
Photos of the courier helped investigators identify Xin Liu, 40, a Chinese national living in Apopka on an H-1B visa.
Authorities said Liu posed as an FBI investigator and traveled to at least six locations to collect cash. She later pleaded guilty and, in June 2026, was sentenced to 27 months in federal prison and ordered to pay restitution.
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Why does it matter?
Whatever form the scam takes, it often relies on the same kind of pressure: panicking the target, pushing for immediate payment, and leaving little time to check whether the story is true.
Although this case centered on crypto, similar scams also use cash, gold, gift cards, and other payment methods that can be difficult to recover once they are sent.
Older Americans are being hit especially hard.
The numbers underscore that trend. Moneywise reported that in 2025, the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center said people 60 and older reported more than $7.7 billion in losses, a 37% increase from the year before, with average losses exceeding $38,000. Separately, the FBI recorded 525 gold-courier complaints in 2024 and nearly $219 million in losses.
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Scams tied to crypto continue to pose a major consumer risk: transfers can happen quickly and are often difficult to reverse once the funds are gone.
Officials urge people to be careful with their money and verify with their banking institution or government agency before completing any transaction. The Justice Department's National Elder Fraud Hotline is 1-833-372-8311, and complaints can be filed with the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov.
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