PHOENIX – You may have seen them in your local convenience store: ATM machines used strictly for Bitcoin. Despite new legislation aimed at curbing crypto fraud, the scheme persists, causing some victims to lose their life savings. 

“It’s the Wild West,” said Peoria Police Detective Mike Finney. It is an accurate description of the devastation that can unravel in minutes.

The backstory:

“I’m telling you. This is a scam,” a Scottsdale police officer told a resident in a body cam recording. 

All it takes is coercion by phone or even by force.

“They’re on the phone with the victim, and they instill fear,” said Detective Jeff Brennan of the Scottsdale Police Financial Crimes Unit.

“He takes my phone, ‘give me the code, give me…