WATERFORD TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WXYZ) — A new initiative in Waterford Township is putting scammers and residents on alert.

Police have placed large warning signs next to Bitcoin ATM machines at nearly 20 local business, cautioning customers before sending large sums of money to potential scammers.

It comes as more scammers are directing their victims to use Bitcoin ATMs, which makes the transactions nearly impossible for police to trace.

Owner of Crescent Lake Mobil Tony Attisha is used to seeing his customers bring in cash but a few weeks ago, one customer caught his eye.

“She had a stack of cash, stack of $100 bills,” Attisha said. “When you see an older lady walk in with stacks of cash, looks like she just came from the bank, your instincts go off.”

Attisha watched as the woman went straight to the Bitcoin ATM machine and quickly began depositing money. He knew a scammer was likely behind it.

“They’re told not to talk to anybody, so as we try to tell them hey, be careful, it’s a scam, they refuse to talk to you,” Attisha said.

Getting nowhere, he called Waterford police and Detective Austin Moll showed up in minutes.

“I came right here, I identified myself, she stopped and we were able to get her back $7,000 she put in the machine. She was in the process of putting over $16,000 in the machine,” Moll said.

Moll says these cases happen at least once a week in Waterford. Scammers make contact with victims, often elderly, and convince them to take money out of their bank.

“In that specific case, they told her the people at her bank were in on it, and they told her not to tell anybody why she was there, not to talk to anybody that approached her,” Moll said.

Moll’s cases have ranged from $500 to $500,000 and the money is almost always lost. Since cryptocurrency is harder to trace, it’s gaining popularity with scammers.

According to the Federal Trade Commission, scams using Bitcoin ATMs have increased tenfold, with $114 million stolen in 2023. People age 60 and older were more than three times as likely to fall victim.

“They have little warning signs on the machine already, but nobody is looking at them, so I wanted to make something big and bold that people will actually look at, from the police department,” Moll said.

In the last week, Moll has put up signs in front of every Bitcoin ATM in Waterford. He says each local business owner has been in full support, hoping the scams come to an end

“Could be my mom, could be anybody with all the money in their life they’ve worked really hard for their entire life,” Attisha said. “We trained all our workers to look out for it so hopefully, it doesn’t happen again.”

Here are some tips to avoid scams:

• Never click on links or respond directly to unexpected calls, messages or computer pop-ups
• Slow down: scammers want you in a rush
• Never withdraw cash in response to an unexpected call or message
• Real businesses and government agencies will never demand money in only Bitcoin or gift cards