Where I live this is in the news: The Outer Banks Voice - KDH woman loses $29K in FTC scam
Many of these scams have been around so long it’s hard to believe people still fall for them.
When I was little, before caller id and answering machines, everyone always picked up the phone when it rang. Now it just the opposite, I don’t pick up unless I know the caller.
A couple of years ago, my mom who was 89 at the time, almost fell victim to something similar. Same virus message on her computer with a phone number and an urgent plea that she should call it. It wasn’t the FTC, rather another law enforcement “agent” that convinced her someone at the bank was stealing her money and that she needed to get to the bank immediately to withdraw all her money and send it to them for safekeeping. The bank they wanted her to transfer it to was in Bangkok. She got to the bank (CU actually) and the teller told her it was probably a scam but she argued with them and told them it was her money and she could do what she wanted. Ultimately, the teller did not transfer the money and convinced my mom to call someone to have the story checked out. She called my sister who ran down there and stopped the whole thing. The amount she was going to transfer was ~$29k.
My mom was eventually convinced that it was a scam and moved control of her accounts to us. other tactics the scammer used was telling her she needed to stay on the phone or else all her money would be gone. This makes it so nobody else can call my mom. The only thing that was good about this is my mom was on the phone with them for 6-8 hours, or more, we’re not sure, and they got nothing.
There’s a special place in hell for these people. If you’ve never see the guy on youtube who turns the tables on these dirt bags, check it out. It’s called “Scammer Payback”.
Friend of mine, college grad and smart, got suckered into some scam. They wanted her to buy $$$ gift cards from some store. She got there and the clerk said it was a scam. They see this every day. My friend was grateful ---- and felt foolish.