SMITHFIELD – An elderly Johnston County resident found out the hard way there are fake websites that resemble genuine businesses.
Recently, a 75 year-old Smithfield resident decided she wanted to change her television package with her TV provider, Spectrum. The woman did an online search for Spectrum to obtain their phone number.
Unfortunately, the victim clicked on a fake website created by a scammer to appear to be the official Spectrum website. The fraudulent website had stolen images and logos from Spectrum.
When the woman called the phone number on the scammers website she was told her Spectrum account had be “flagged for hackers” and as a courtesy they would transfer the woman to Truist Bank. A person pretending to be a Truist bank employee told the victim the money in her bank account was no longer safe and she needed to withdraw the money and purchase BitCoin. After purchasing $40,000 in Bitcoin she was instructed to provide them with her account information.
The elderly victim lost $40,000 in the scam.
Authorities say to be careful where you click, including emails, text messages, or links on social media posts. Inspect a website carefully looking for an usual domain name, grammatical errors, low quality images, poor design, and minimal contact information.
You can report suspected fake websites or other internet crimes to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center.
At what point does it just become plain stupidity on the part of the person who gets scammed? Like when in their ENTIRE life would they think they needed to buy bitcoin? Its hard to feel sorry for people who are just plain dumb.
Ok
Jmoney sometimes it’s elderly folks that get scammed….they didn’t grow up with computers, cell phones, etc. Maybe if the NEWS MEDIA told people that if at anytime ANYONE wants you to purchase visa cards, or bitcoin to pay for something IT’S A SCAM… NOBODY legitimate will ask you to do that…not the state, county or government…or a supposed boy/girl friend…
The news media has been telling people that for years and they still fall for it. The blame belongs with two parties, the scammer and the scammed.
If you can’t hold on to your money, you shouldn’t be allowed to vote. These are the “fraud” votes that will cost us the election.
That sounds like ‘TOTAL NONSENCE’.
There is NO connection to anything you’re saying.
If you’re too stupid to keep hold of your money, you’re probably too stupid to vote legally. I have a feeling that a large number of these “fraud victims” also vote illegally.
Spectrum service is fake enough without impostors
Now there’s some logic!😆 They rip us off enough legally.
I am at a loss for words as you can tell by above post–I feel for the elderly as I am basically one-but you can’t trust anything right now. I know if anything needs to be done with my banking I will go there personally. Everyday the
scums of the earth are thinking up new ways to get money that someone else worked for.