An elderly Utah woman, Anola Johnson, lost $850,000 to a cryptocurrency romance scam, highlighting the growing issue of crypto fraud. Johnson, 69, was targeted by a stranger on LinkedIn who built trust and affection before convincing her to invest in a joint cryptocurrency account. She sent cash through a cryptocurrency ATM, believing the man was also adding to the account, and depleted her savings and credit to keep investing. It took nine months for her to realize she was being scammed, and by then, it was too late. Americans lost $1.14 billion to romance scams in 2023, and online scammers are increasingly using cryptocurrency due to its anonymous and irreversible nature. Johnson noticed small red flags early on but overlooked them due to the scammer's convincing stories. She is now burdened with paying back the debts she incurred. Lawmakers in Utah are addressing cryptocurrency fraud with two bills proposing limits on cryptocurrency transfers and fees for crypto ATM operators. One bill, sponsored by Rep. Ryan Wilcox, caps cryptocurrency ATM transactions at $2,000 per day for the first three days, increasing to $5,000 after that. The other bill, sponsored by Sen. Brady Brammer, starts with lower transaction limits of $1,000 per day and a 3% fee ceiling for operators. Both bills require ATM operators to disclose terms and conditions and provide fraud warnings. Johnson urges people to learn from her story and for lawmakers to take action against crypto fraud, emphasizing that no one is immune to scams. 'There's a scam out there for everybody,' she said.
