Police officer Dave ‘saves the day’ through scam intervention

When an off-duty police officer spotted an elderly woman feeding $100 notes into a crypto ATM, he raced into the Adelaide business and intervened.

Now the 84-year-old victim – who wishes to remain anonymous – hopes sharing her cautionary tale will prevent others from being scammed.

On 20 June 2024, the Adelaide woman was finishing up some tasks on her computer when the unfortunate series of events occurred.

“At about 10am, I was just about finished reading the news online when an absolutely blaring, loud sound with flashing red lights appeared saying I’d been hacked, and to call the support line,” she said.

“A mistake I made was I didn't check the number before calling.”

Fast forward to 4pm. After six hours of worry, belief $17,000 had been stolen from precious life savings, pressure from the scammer to act quickly, and warnings against seeking help from family, the victim found herself “brainwashed” into falling for an elaborate cyber scam.

But it could have been worse.

After finishing work for the day, Sergeant David Mitchell was walking past a corner Adelaide CBD business when he noticed a distressed woman by a crypto ATM, and quickly realised he needed to act.

Sgt Mitchell has worked in the South Australia Police (SAPOL) Financial and Cybercrime Investigation Branch for five years, in SAPOL for 14 years, and eight years as a UK police officer prior.

Through his work in cybercrime, he has developed an instinct when it comes to identifying scam red flags and often shares awareness and resources with a variety of businesses, including the 19 in Adelaide’s CBD with crypto ATMS.

“I'm walking past, and I see the victim feeding money into the crypto ATM and immediately my adrenaline spikes, because I could also see that she was on the phone,” Sgt Mitchell remembered.

“So, I've rushed in and yelled ‘stop’. I showed my ID and identified myself as a police officer because I was out of uniform and tried to prevent her from putting any more cash into the ATM.”

Rewind to the first scam call. The victim was told she was being put through to a secure line for her bank and heard the usual recorded message before it dropped out. From here she followed the usual questioning process, which appeared legitimate, before being convinced an unauthorised transaction of $17,000 had been sent to a cryptocurrency wallet.

To recover the funds, the scammers convinced the woman to withdraw the same amount in cash and to send the funds via crypto ATM before a same-day deadline.

Unable to withdraw the full amount, the victim – despite being questioned by her bank – took out $5000 in the hope of reversing the (make-believe) transaction.

By the time Sgt Mitchell intervened, $1100 had been fed into the crypto ATM.

“It was hard to stop the victim from putting the money in the ATM, so I ended up taking it from her, along with the phone,” he said.

“I spoke to the scammer, but he didn’t believe I was a police officer. He hung up and a woman called back claiming to be the victim’s daughter. I told them both how disgraceful and despicable they are before I was hung up on again.

“Unfortunately, the $1100 was never recovered, but at least $3900 was saved. From here I called for backup and got one of our cybercrime investigators to attend.

“They checked the victim’s phone and saw that remote access software had been installed and it was immediately deleted because that would give the scammers access to her information. Then the victim was conveyed to Hindley Street police station and a report was taken.”

Upon reflection, the victim recognised preventable mistakes made and sadly felt “foolish”.

“I should have checked the number, called back on a reputable number, checked with my bank, and not reacted in a panic,” she said regrettably.

“I was told not to contact friends or family and to tell the bank teller the money I was withdrawing was for my daughter. Looking back, that was a red flag.

“Overall, I feel humiliated that this happened to me. I’m usually clear-headed and quite a logical thinker but unfortunately, I was exhausted when this occurred.”

Checking in with the victim weeks later, Sgt Mitchell joked about being referred to as a “godsend”.

The victim expressed heart-felt thanks to the “hero” police officer.

“I wrote a letter of thanks to the Commissioner,” she added.

“I am an elderly widow and Sgt Mitchell rescued me from the incredibly stressful situation I found myself in. He even visited me several days later to make sure I was okay.

“Without exception each SAPOL officer was considerate, reassuring, respectful, and professional during the time I spent with them. I felt very supported throughout the ordeal.”

To report a cybercrime, visit the ReportCyber website or for more information on tech support scams visit www.police.sa.gov.au/scams-week

Cybercrime’s Sergeant David Mitchell recently intervened in a tech support scam when he witnessed an elderly woman feeding money into a crypto ATM.