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Some friends of ours who are in their early 70s visited us this week and told us of a sad thing that happened to the husband's older brother. His brother, a retired college professor, got a call that purported to be from Social Security (caller ID said Social Sec.) and they told the man that his Social Security account had been compromised and all his money, including money in his financial accounts, was at risk. They convinced him to provide his account details so that SS could keep his money safe. The scammers promptly cleaned out his accounts. This is a man in his late 70s/early 80s who is intelligent, but he panicked, got caught in the scammer's net and as a result lost the remainder of his savings. Our friends' family members are each contributing something to restore some small level of the brother's nest egg. The victim is humiliated that he fell for the scam.
It's easy to say we would all be safe from such scams, but these scammers were very skilled, and our friend's brother was alone and vulnerable. If you know someone like this man, forewarning them about this type of scam in advance is highly advisable. Not all older people are tuned in to these sorts of crimes, and in the panic of the moment, they can become highly vulnerable.
This doesn't make sense to me. Are they sure he didn't just gamble the money away or give it away or something? I just don't believe someone educated who doesn't have dementia, who ever watches the news, would fall for something like this.
This doesn't make sense to me. Are they sure he didn't just gamble the money away or give it away or something? I just don't believe someone educated who doesn't have dementia, who ever watches the news, would fall for something like this.
I've heard of that scam and have also received a phone call with that caller ID and it's fraud
This doesn't make sense to me. Are they sure he didn't just gamble the money away or give it away or something? I just don't believe someone educated who doesn't have dementia, who ever watches the news, would fall for something like this.
It had just happened to him in the past week, and yes, he was scammed. Police told him that this scam has taken millions from people. I found this article that seems to confirm it:
I'm just saying that if this man is a retired professor, he shouldn't have been one of the 3% of people gullible enough to fall for it.
I'm not saying it's not a real scam. I'm questioning this person falling for it.
I just don't understand anyone falling for these scams at this point, with all the press there has been about these types of scams, but especially someone as described doing so.
That must be so awful for the guy. And scary to lose all his money, and humiliating too. It's kind of friends and family to chip in and help him restore at least some of what he lost.
I never ever answer the phone unless it's ID'd as a personal friend or family member who is already in my contacts. Any other caller, if they have something legit to tell me, can leave a message. But then, I have always done that, even back when we had a landline, no caller ID, and old answering machine with a cassette tape in it.
How does anyone "clean out" someone's Social Security account? Or even take the money out of their own account? There isn't actually any money there in an SS account, just credits and an eligibility to receive monthly benefits.
The scammers are usually content with getting the victim to buy Google Play cards or something similar, and read them the numbers over the phone, thus getting the value off the card.
The really devious ones convince the victim to transfer all his bank accounts to a "safety locker" with the promise that they will be returned soon. It is usually a "mule" account with no traceable link to the actual scammer.
I do hope someone is now overseeing this person's finances.
Last edited by VTsnowbird; 06-28-2019 at 04:51 AM..
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