Guelph police say a woman has lost $19,000 in a bitcoin scam that started when she received a call on Wednesday from a man claiming to be an officer with the police service.

According to a police statement, the man told the victim that a bank account existed in her name for $1 million.

“She let the caller know that she didn’t have an account with $1 million. It was explained to her that she must be the victim of identity fraud and that money in her actual bank account was in danger,” according to the Guelph police statement.

The woman was told to empty the account and deposit it into a bitcoin machine inside a store near Wellington and Gordon streets. She then drove around to numerous banks withdrawing money and deposited $19,000 into the bitcoin machine as instructed.

She was then told that her money would be secured and an officer would contact her on Thursday, but when she didn’t hear back, she called the police.

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