Alert Cashier Prevents Salina Woman From Losing $22,800 in Bitcoin Scam

A Salina woman avoided losing more than $22,000 to a scam after an alert cashier recognized the scheme and intervened before any money was transferred.

According to the Salina Police Department, a 72-year-old Salina woman reported on June 29, 2026, that she had been contacted by phone by a person claiming to represent Apple Security.

The caller told the woman there was a fraudulent charge of $249.95 on her account and advised that she needed to speak with someone at Sunflower Bank. The victim was then transferred to another individual who claimed to be a bank representative.

The second caller told the woman she owed $22,800 due to a virus allegedly connected to a “child porn site.” The suspect instructed her to withdraw the money from her bank account and deposit it into a Bitcoin machine in order to resolve the issue.

Following the caller’s instructions, the woman withdrew the funds and went to a Bitcoin kiosk located at 2140 W. Crawford Street. Before she could complete the transaction, a cashier at the business recognized the situation as a scam and warned her not to proceed.

The woman did not deposit any money into the machine and instead returned the funds to her bank account before contacting law enforcement.

The Salina Police Department commended the cashier for taking action to protect the customer and helping prevent a substantial financial loss.

Police also reminded the public that legitimate businesses, including Apple and financial institutions, will not instruct customers to send money through Bitcoin or other cryptocurrency services to resolve account issues. Anyone receiving such requests is encouraged to contact their bank or law enforcement before taking action.