Denver woman, 74, who lost her life savings in elaborate Social Security scam reveals how she was duped to stop others from falling victim
- ‘Terry’ lost her entire life savings – $75,000 in phone call scam
- The scammer posed as a government employee and said her bank accounts had been compromised
- He convinced her to move her money from her Wells Fargo accounts to Bitcoin
A 74-year-old Denver woman was defrauded of thousands of dollars in an elaborate Social Security Bitcoin scam.
Terry claims she lost her entire life savings – a sum of $75,000 – from a phone call after a scammer led her to believe her bank accounts had been compromised.
The caller identified herself as a Federal Trade Commission employee and began reciting her personal information, including her Social Security number, the victim said. 9News.
When the scammer convinced Terry that he was a real employee of the FTC, he began telling her that her bank accounts had been compromised and needed to be emptied.
The fraudster successfully convinced Terry to empty her Wells Fargo accounts and deposit the money into Bitcoin ATMs.
But all was lost once the victim shared the unique numbers linked to her Bitcoin funds, and the money she had saved all her life disappeared into thin air.
Terry lost her entire life savings – a sum of $75,000 to a phone call scam after the caller tricked her into believing her bank accounts had been compromised
The scammer successfully persuaded Terry to empty her Wells Fargo accounts and deposit the money into Bitcoin ATMs
‘I felt empty. And I don’t know. Maybe you can use the word ‘abused?’” the victim said
A spokesperson for Wells Fargo told 9News that “it would take a few working days to investigate the situation and expected an investigation to be completed early next week.”
The victim told the channel about the impact of the scam on her life: ‘I felt empty. And I don’t know. Maybe you can use the word ‘abused’?
‘I don’t go to the supermarket, but once a month. If I run out of food, I run out of food.
A spokesperson for Wells Fargo said that “it would take a few business days to investigate the situation and expected an investigation to be completed early next week.”
“I don’t go places. I don’t do things.’
Ultimately, her financial advisor told her she was being scammed when she tried to drain her retirement account and save her from further loss.
The Social Security Administration explains that fraudsters tend to use legitimate names of employees of the Office of Inspector General, or SSA, spoof official government phone numbers or even local police department numbers to defraud people.
The government body advises to remain calm, be skeptical, always look out for warning signs or simply ignore the call to avoid losing money.
According to a report from Hiya, the average American cell phone user received approximately 14 spam calls per month. In the US alone, $1.4 billion was lost to cryptocurrency scams in 2022.
Some of the most common types of fraud include romance fraud, insurance fraud, credit card fraud, and Medicare fraud.