The Truth Is……This Could Happen to Anyone!
I think it’s safe to say that many of us have been the victim of a cybercrime or security breach at some point in our lives – myself included. On one occasion, I was checking my bank accounts online (as I do often) and I noticed an unauthorized transaction involving my debit card. I promptly contacted my bank and reported it to make sure that the criminals couldn’t make any more purchases. Many years later, I received a call from my bank asking if I had just made a large purchase at a Best Buy store in California. Of course, I said no as I live on the east coast and hadn’t recently traveled out of state. In both cases, my bank investigated the incident, refunded the purchases, and issued a new debit card. Both of these incidents happened more than 10 years ago. And since then, I’ve learned to be more cautious when making purchases both online and in person with my debit and credit cards. However, it seems that as technology continues to advance, the schemes and scams utilized by cyber criminals become even more sophisticated. This was clearly demonstrated in an article written by financial-advice columnist Charlotte Cowles for a website called The Cut.
In the article, she revealed that she was scammed out of $50,000 in an elaborate ruse by a team of criminals who impersonated a CIA agent, a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) investigator, and an Amazon customer service representative. Initially, the whole thing seemed so incredible, almost hard to believe. That is until I got deep into the article, and I began to understand how this could’ve happened. The writer described herself as someone who doesn’t “panic under pressure” and wouldn’t fall for such a scheme under normal circumstances. However, the fact that the criminals had access to her personal information (especially her social security number) was what convinced her to believe them. She mentioned that she had doubts throughout the whole ordeal, but she brushed them aside after being manipulated into believing that her (and her family’s) safety and financial security were at risk unless she cooperated.
It all started with a call from an Amazon rep alerting Ms. Cowles of suspicious activity on her account. After being convinced that she was a victim of identity theft (which wasn’t true), she was transferred to a Federal Trade Commission investigator who detailed an elaborate narrative involving identity theft, money laundering and drug trafficking that was linked to her personal information. And in order for them to clear her name, she was told not to speak to anyone about the situation, not even her spouse or the police. She was also commanded to follow their specific instructions. The FTC investigator eventually transferred her to a CIA agent who claimed that he was assigned to work on cases involving the FTC. Under the pretense of protecting her assets, she was directed to withdraw $50,000 in cash from her bank account, place it in a box and hand it over to a driver who would soon be arriving outside of her home.
Once the money exchanged hands and the vehicle drove away, the criminals continued to keep up the ruse so as not to spook Ms. Cowles into immediately realizing that she had just been scammed. But after hours of getting evasive responses to her questions regarding next steps, she was suddenly faced with the awful truth: her $50,000 was gone and she would never get it back. She describes feeling violated and embarrassed. How could someone so rational and financially literate fall for such a scam? The truth is it could happen to almost anyone. This cautionary tale further emphasizes the need for awareness and education to prevent something like this from happening to you.
To read the entire account, visit The Cut.