An elderly woman lost a large sum of money in a scam this month after being threatened with arrest.
On December 8th, a 77 year-old Clayton resident said she received an email indicating she needed to pay $299.99 for security software for her computer. She was instructed to fill out some information online and she would be contacted. Soon thereafter, she received a call from the scammer and was told she didn’t owe any money and instead would receive a credit for $1,200 to her bank account.
Later, during the call, the scammer said they had actually deposited $12,000 into her account by mistake and she needed to wire $10,800 from her bank to an overseas account immediately. If she did not comply, the fraudster said they would notify the FBI and she would be arrested immediately. Unfortunately, the victim complied and wired $10,800 to the individual.
Authorities say that seniors are often the targets of scams designed to exploit them by promising money, trips, discount drugs, or low-cost insurance. Other scams include “bank notices” or official-looking government or business emails demanding they provide personal information like their bank account information or social security number.
A recent scam appearing on social media sites asks seniors to fill out medical surveys about their health. The quizzes ask personal information about their wealth and personal lives. The quizzes are then used by scammers to generate specific “offers” to scam them based on your answers.
