Senior Loses $20,000 In Online Scam

JOHNSTON COUNTY – A Cleveland-area resident lost $20,000 recently after being scammed. The 76 year-old woman said she was on Facebook and received a message promising her $150,000.

The victim was instructed all she needed to do was to send the unknown person $20,000 in Apple gift cards and in return they would pay her $150,000 in cash.

The woman obtained $20,000 in gift cards and gave the card numbers to the fraudster. She never received the $150,000.

According to the FBI, frauds targeting the elderly are up more than 74 percent. In 2021, elderly victims lost approximately $1.7 billion to scams.