A Microsoft tech support scam wiped out a South Sound woman’s life savings.
She lost nearly $140,000.
The 68-year-old grandmother of six asked us to hide her identity. Because, as a victim of cybercrime, all she feels is shame.
“Nobody knows except for my ladies in my class and then two of my other friends... Nobody knows in my family,” she tells me.
I asked her why she hadn’t told her family. Her answer was heartbreaking, “Because I don’t want them to think I was stupid.”
Kay Tomlinson, a Fraud Watch Specialist for AARP says those kinds of answers come from how the general public treats victims of cybercrime.
Tomlinson explains, “You know, we treat victims of violent crime one way - empathy, sympathy, support. Fraud scams - how could you let yourself be taken advantage of like that?”
“It’s blaming the victim for having a part in their own crime, when really they’ve been victimized by a criminal. And they’re embarrassed, and now they experience something that victims of violent crime don’t experience, and that’s shame,” Tomlinson says.
According to the FBI, tech support scams were ranked the number one reported cybercrime by seniors aged sixty plus.
18,000 were reported to have been victimized by this kind of scam, losing $3.4 billion last year alone.
AARP has a Fraud watch Hotline so Seniors can talk and share their stories without shame.
“Top of FormBottom of Form. They can be seen or not seen and share their stories and get support and help. So this is the kind of information that we want to share to let people know. And it’s really stories like you’re doing here to spread the word, so to speak, to make people aware and not just say, I think it was just their own fault,” Tomlinson adds.
In this case, the scammer ordered the victim to allow him into her computer remotely. Once inside, he faked an overpayment and told her to send two cashier’s checks, at $69,000 a pop, to a home in Loganville, Georgia to make it right.
When I asked the victim how she was holding up she told me, “Well, I have my bad days and my good days. I’m having trouble holding food in my stomach to just, I think just cause I’m such an emotional wreck.”
The two-week ordeal ended when a friend intervened and called an IT professional to help. Once she spoke out, the scam ended. The hope is that other seniors will do the same.
Her advice now? “Just be aware. You know what? You know if something looks legitimate, maybe check into it a little bit more. I’m not going to trust anybody.”
Additional Resources:
AARP Fraud Watch Network Helpline
This is a free resource open to the public. People can speak with trained volunteer fraud specialists, where they’ll receive the guidance they can trust, free of judgment. The toll-free number is 877-908-3360.
AARP Washington’s Fraud Watch Fridays
Kay Tomlinson hosts AARP Washington’s free “Fraud Watch Fridays” on the third Friday of every month. These are interactive discussions on the latest scams and fraud. It’s another place where people can feel free to ask and receive answers on scams they’re seeing or experiencing. We have an event planned for this Friday, Sept. 20. Information and registration is available at www.aarp.org/fwf