The daughter of a Burlington senior says her mother was the victim of a scam that cost her almost $400,000.
Not only has her retirement been depleted, she also has terminal lung cancer.
“It’s pretty heartbreaking to know everything she worked for has been cut down quite a bit because of this,” said Krystal Battistel.
Battistel says her mother Karen Wales, who was recently diagnosed with lung cancer, has fallen victim to a scam.
“This happened rapidly,” said Battistel. “Her brain deteriorated very rapidly, and that one phone just got her hooked and scared and then it snowballed.”
Back in February, she says her mother received a WhatsApp text message from someone who said they were a judge, and that her money was compromised and needed to be transferred.
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“They used the ruse of — her identity was stolen and her money was at risk, so their ruse was to get her to move it to a government safe machine or put it into a safe government account,” said Battistel.
But that led to the 75-year-old making multiple transfers and losing hundreds of thousands of dollars.
“What we have proof of, is $360,200,” said Battistel.
“She felt like she was doing the right thing, but she was ultimately duped,” said Chris Battistel, Wales’s son-in-law. “That’s what doesn’t sit right with me, the whole situation of these people just taking advantage of seniors or people that are the most vulnerable.”
The family has reported it to Halton police, who are investigating.
Officers say to talk to your family about scams and to be cautious.
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“Don’t be pressured into these immediately — ‘it needs to be right now, you need to send me money right now, you need to click this link right now’ — anything like that is a huge red flag,” said Halton Regional Police media relations officer Ryan Anderson. “Have conversations with people in your life that you think might be vulnerable to this, and if you yourself are receiving a call from that, take a moment and verify that information yourself. That’s the biggest tip we can give people.”
Battistel has some advice for people with aging parents.
“The best advice I can give anybody who has a senior parent is to go to the bank, and make sure you have everything to protect them, in regards to making sure that multiple people have to be contacted in order for any large transfer to happen,” said Battistel.
Halton police say scams and criminals are creative and ever changing.
For more information on how to protect yourself, resources can be found on the Halton Police Service website here.
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