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an 80 year old woman Florida He lost about $150,000 after fraudsters posing as government employees tricked him into handing over large sums of money and gold – part of a growing scam Which targets older adults.
Patricia Toder, of Lady Lake, was targeted in an elaborate “Phantom Hacker” scheme after she was convinced she was the victim of fraud and needed to move her cash, including money from her deceased husband’s life insurance policy, to a safe place, and eventually moved there. In the hands of scammers.
“I couldn’t believe this had happened,” Todar said. News 6/Click Orlando“They were very good at what they did.”
Earlier this year, the elderly woman was terrified when a woman claiming to be at the Inspector General’s office called, saying she was under investigation and could be arrested on charges of money laundering, drug trafficking and theft by deception, according to a report obtained by News 6/Click Orlando.
After handing over personal information, including her Social Security number and bank account information, Toder was told that she had been the victim of fraud by the man, and that an employee of her bank was the suspect.
“He told me to go to Wells Fargo and take out $20,000 in cash because he said he had to take it and turn it over to the government to save my money,” Toder told News 6.
The report said that after withdrawing large sums of money, Todar returned home and waited for a courier, whom she believed to be part of the government, to come and collect the money from her, believing that it would be secured in a new bank account.
Since Todar’s bank raised questions over her large transactions, the scammers instructed the woman to purchase several gold bars. In total, Todar handed over about $150,000 to the scammers.
The series of events is as follows a familiar playbook that the FBI and The Federal Trade Commission has warned About older adults.
This scheme, known as a “phantom hacker scam”, begins with an attractive lie about a person’s bank accounts, e-commerce account, or personal information being hacked, subject to fraud, or used to commit a crime.
The FBI said scammers will impersonate government employees and send emails on what appears to be official letterhead. The scammers will then offer solutions to frightened victims by instructing them to transfer their money to a more secure account.
According to the FTC, between 2020 and 2024, the number of older adults who lose $100,000 or more to such scams has quadrupled.
In 2020, the combined total loss for adults over 60 was $55 million. In 2024 alone, the combined total deficit increases to $445 million.
The FBI and FTC have warned people not to click on unsolicited links sent via text message, email or pop-up, or to call random telephone numbers. If an unknown person requests to “transfer” money, hang up immediately and call the bank, company or agency directly.