Don’t be a victim to online scammers
Linda Ross
50plus Magazine
OMG! I COULDN’T BELIEVE MY EARS. Amazon called saying someone had charged $3,000 on my account!
Thus began an odyssey that lasted several hours.
The caller requested remote access to my computer. (Missed red flag). They wanted to deposit $3,000 into my account to cover the fraudulent charges, but first I must fill out a form. He stated emphatically not to make any mistakes and go slow, as the form couldn’t be corrected.
Carefully filling in the blanks, I entered $3,000 in the designated field. Somehow (mysteriously), it recorded not three, but THIRTY thousand dollars!
The man on the phone became very upset. Asked me to look at my checking account. Sure enough, a $30,000 deposit was in my account instead of $3,000.
“I’m going to lose my job!” he exclaimed. “I could just cry! I’m physically shaking!” he claimed.
I apologized to no avail.
The only solution, he said, was to wire back the $30,000, less the $3,000 reimbursement for the fraud.
He provided the pertinent information to complete the transfer. “This type of transaction goes through one of our foreign programs,” he said. Right there, another red flag. I should have been suspicious, but I was rattled about potentially costing this man his job, so didn’t question him.
He provided me with a script to follow for the transfer. (Another red flag.)
We had looped in Jeanne at my credit union, who was suspicious from the start. She saw the $30K in my account, which wasn’t mine. With my account on her screen, Jeanne said, “The $30,000 has just been removed from your account! Someone is really screwing around!” Alarmed, I said, “I can’t wire the money if it’s no longer there!” She said: “Linda, this is a scam!”
Just then, my daughter called.
“I can’t talk now,” I told her, “I’m on with the credit union.”
Minutes later, she was at my door.
“Why did you move $30,000 from my account into yours!?” she cried. “I have payroll today! I pulled the $30,000 from your account and put it back.” (This was when Jeanne saw the money removed from my account on her screen.)
Sometimes the light is slow to dawn.
At the time all this happened, my daughter’s and my accounts had been linked. The so-called Amazon rep had moved the money from hers into mine. I was mortified to think I could have lost $30,000 of my daughter’s money! I had Jeanne immediately separate the accounts so this could never happen again.
Next, I took my computer in for a good cleaning and fortified security. I also contacted the FBI, reported the scam, and gave them the foreign routing number.
Of the many lessons I learned through this terrifying experience was this important detail: Amazon does not report fraudulent charges. They will not contact you.
Be careful out there! Pay attention to red flags. Don’t get emotionally hooked. Check things out. Verify with the company claiming to be (fill in the blank) and call your bank or credit union before taking any action.
I was lucky. Just this week, the parents of one of my daughter’s employees lost $17,000 in a similar scam.
I now wear a hardhat!