80-year-old woman robbed of $19K while taking cash to cryptocurrency bank, HPD says

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- The Houston Police Department is looking for the two men who allegedly robbed a woman as she tried to deposit thousands of dollars into a cryptocurrency kiosk.

HPD released surveillance video of the men from the convenience store on Fannin near Gray in Midtown.

Officials said the victim had been contacted by a third party several days before and was told her bank had been hacked, and the only way to keep her money safe was to move it to a crypto account.

Investigators said the victim made several withdrawals, and the alleged scammers even coached her on what to say to the tellers so they wouldn't be suspicious.

"She was doing it for the purpose of repairing her house, which had been damaged in the hurricane, which it wasn't. But she is doing this for the purpose of the possibility that the tellers could be involved in hacking their bank," Jeff Brieden with HPD's robbery division said.

While attempting to deposit $19,000 on July 12, police say these men saw the woman with the envelope and took it.

Right now, investigators do not believe they are in anyway connected to the suspected scammers. If you recognize them, you're asked to call the police.