TRAVERSE CITY — A 73-year-old Traverse City woman recently lost $42,000 after being targeted by a phishing scam involving individuals impersonating Microsoft employees. The victim was coerced into purchasing $6,000 in gift cards and wiring the remaining balance after scammers falsely claimed her account was linked to illegal activity.
The incident reflects a growing trend of email phishing scams reported nationwide. Amy Nofzinger, Senior Director of Fraud Victim Support at AARP, said the AARP Fraud Watch Network helpline receives approximately 500 phone calls every day from people reporting scams. Of those calls, roughly 200 people every day report losing money or personal information to these schemes.
The scam began when the woman received an email from individuals impersonating Microsoft employees. The message falsely claimed her account was associated with child pornography websites and included a phone number to call for assistance. Upon calling the number, a scammer reinforced the false claims in the email before transferring the victim to another man.
The suspect instructed the victim that she needed to obtain $42,000 in gift cards to recover her funds. The woman traveled to Lowe’s and purchased $6,000 in gift cards before wiring the remaining balance.
Nofzinger, explained that these types of scams follow a predictable pattern. “Every single scam has similar DNA as I like to call it. It comes out of the blue with urgency,” Nofzinger said. “They’re using fear or excitement to try to get you emotional. They’re trying to scare you, or they’re trying to get you excited about something. They’re asking you to lie or keep it a secret. And any scam is going to ask you for money or personal information.”
Nofzinger noted that criminals prefer gift cards because they are easily obtained at grocery or big box stores and are virtually untraceable once the money is loaded. “Additionally, there’s little friction with them,” Nofzinger said. “You can walk into any store, load money on the cards and there’s not many questions that are being asked of the individuals.”
To help prevent these crimes, AARP officials suggest that families incorporate fraud protection into their regular conversations. Nofzinger encouraged people to support victims by showing empathy rather than judgment.
“These are victims of crime,” Nofzinger said, “if someone in your family tells you that they’ve been a victim of a scam, say, I am so sorry this happened to you. I’m not sure what the next step is, but we’ll figure it out.”
The victim’s bank is currently attempting to recover the $42,000. Individuals who believe they or their family members have been victims of fraud are encouraged to reach out to their local Police Department.
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