A middle-aged woman emptied three large bottles of coca-cola into an ATM after being told that she owed 15,000 RMB and pouring coke into the machine would make it spit out money, according to Liaoning Satellite Television.

A person called the woman on Saturday (December 1) and claimed to be from the government.  He said her social security card was 15,000 RMB in the red and if she didn’t pay the arrears to an account number by 5 p.m. that day she would be sent to jail in Beijing. The caller then told her that ATMs could turn coke into cash, and in a fit of panic she believed him.

Security camera footage shows the woman going into the bank and pouring cola into it while talking on her phone. She then went to a bank across the road to do the same thing before being subdued by security guards and a cop who was standing by.

Police decided that the woman, surnamed Cao, was a victim and was simply poorly educated. The bank, located on Nanshan Boulevard in Nanshan District, will not press charges, according to Hebei Satellite Television.

Remarks made by netizens in this comment section include “Some people are frighteningly ignorant”; “How can someone so stupid operate a phone”; and “Her hair is long, her intellect is short.”

Others expressed admiration for the scammer’s creativity.