Couple loses $115k after computer shut down without warning – they rushed to bank account to save it but made it worse | 96J7513 | 2024-04-24 19:08:01
A SENIOR couple has been scammed out of $115,000 after their computer shut down and they were asked to call a mysterious number.
On the call, the couple was told anxiety-inducing information that led them to hand over their money to scammers.
The couple, ages 71 and 68, were told that $5,000 had been stolen from them and the FBI had connected them to child porn and PornHub, according to Lancaster Country Nebraska Police Chief Deputy Ben Houchin.
What they had been told wasn't true but the couple grew more scared over the next few weeks as they continued to receive calls, The Kansas City Star reported.
The caller was able to convince the couple to buy gold bars on April 1, according to Houchin.
They bought gold bars at a local business after withdrawing $115,000 from their bank.
After they put the gold bars in a cardboard box, a man was going to take them and bring them to Washington D.C. for safekeeping, according to the scammer on the phone.
A man in a silver Ford Explorer came to the couple's home five days later and took the box of gold, according to police.
The couple heard nothing from the caller again and realized they had been scammed after calling their bank and police.
"I'm sure they're embarrassed (about) what transpired," Houchin said.
Scammers rely on scare tactics to scare seniors into handing over money.
About $28.3 billion is lost to elder fraud scams each year, according to a 2023 AARP Study.
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The couple was told that their money was most likely gone for good.
"It's going to be extremely difficult for us to locate the gold bars," Houchin said.
"We will do everything we possibly can. (But) it's very likely … this is out of the country by now."
Houchin called the scam, which is the largest fraud case the Lancaster County Police Department has worked on in 2024, "very unusual" and "more concerning" than others.
"The … scary part about this is, usually, they have them mail or give them numbers on credit cards," he said.
<p class="article__content--intro"> As scams become more sophisticated with the use of artificial intelligence, it is important you know how to spot a scam: </p> </div> </div> "It is very unusual that a person actually shows up at a residence and takes the money," Houchin said.
He also advised people to immediately contact police if they feel they are being scammed.
"If they'd have done either one of those, this would not have occurred," he said.
'A MAJOR LOSS'
Another woman from the same county lost $25,000 after a pop-up appeared on her computer.
The pop-up brought the 54-year-old woman to what she thought was a credit union fraud department where she was told to make a phone call, according to local CBS affiliate KOLN.
She was told over the phone that Russians had hacked her bank account and tried to take over $27,000.
To protect her account, the person on the phone told her to transfer $25,000 into Bitcoin cryptocurrency, which she did.
She was then transferred to a person impersonating a sheriff, who gave her a fake case number for the attempted theft from her bank account.
Police advised people to immediately contact police if they feel that they are being scammed[/caption]
More >> https://ift.tt/8uaiAMh Source: MAG NEWS