Posted on 05/19/2021 11:23:55 AM PDT by L.A.Justice
SAN DIEGO (KGTV) - A Point Loma grandmother is sharing her story after she was scammed out of her life savings during a two-day nightmare.
Barbara Read, 71, got the call last Wednesday morning. The cellphone caller ID read "Federal Reserve." A man identifying himself as a federal reserve officer told the disabled retiree her identity had been stolen and used in a crime spree.
“They knew quite a bit about me,” said Read. ”Someone had been laundering money and counterfeiting money to Colombia, and drug trafficking.”
Read was transferred to a supposed sheriff's deputy, who confirmed she was facing charges, under surveillance, and should stay on the phone with them.
“They just scared me so much with … people were watching me. My phone was tapped. They were going to arrest me and throw me in jail,” said Read.
But the man claiming to be with the Federal Reserve said he wanted to help her, and wanted to protect her assets from the identity thief until the investigation wrapped up.
"Scared me so much that I thought, ‘Gosh, I guess they're really trying to protect me,’” said Read.
In the next two days, the retired nurse and widow went back and forth six times between her banks and Bitcoin ATMs, withdrawing $38,300 — every penny of life savings — and depositing it into a Bitcoin account she believed was a Federal Reserve holding account.
She also charged $2,000 in gift cards, reading the codes to the men on the phone. When they abruptly hung up, she knew she'd been scammed.
“I just feel like I'm at rock bottom,” said a tearful Read.
Read, who lives on a fixed income, is now facing an uncertain future.
“I just felt terrible. So defeated. I have no savings. Nothing … I like helping people, like my granddaughter and my church. That’s what hurts the most: not being to help others out,” said Read.
Read is sharing her story to help others avoid the pain she's feeling.
“I just don’t feel like I would get caught in something like that, and I definitely did,” said Read.
Read did file a police report, but her family told ABC 10News the Bitcoin deposits, which used something called blockchain technology, are untraceable.
A GoFundMe campaign has been set up to help read with expenses.
“Scammer Payback” on YouTube is hysterical. He keeps these people on the phone for hours.
I’d enjoy telling a “Federal Reserve” caller more than a few things.
Require the elderly to have only “call out” phones…
Don’t wear sandals!
They’ll hang you!
Strangely, only the police give you “in person” grief.
I don’t even answer numbers I don’t recognize.
I have a ringtone for my contact list and use the default one for everything else.
It is a pain to set the ringtone for every number on my contact list, but sometimes I’m somewhere where I have to wait and have time to kill and do it then.
Now I can tell by the ringtone if it’s something I want to answer or ignore.
That is a great idea. Yes, lot of work to set it up if you have like 50-60 or more contacts, but the ringtone tells you if you should run to the phone.
Maybe neither.
It may be more a matter of being raised in the day when you were courteous to people and they were honest and you could trust them.
71, $38,000 in life savings, living in Point Loma, that really does not add up. This does not pass the smell test.
I think it is a scam, 71 with $40k in savings, living in Point Loma would be broke in two years if she does not own the house. If she does own it she has $2million at least in assets.
I had to move the phone out of reach of my mother in law.
Should would give away the farm.
The IRS will *never* initiate a call to you about a tax matter. The IRS will call back if you initiate a call to them about a tax matter and request that it do so. The preferred method of communication between the IRS and taxpayer is snail mail. I know this by painful experience, which was finally resolved in my favor.
For those who want to see these guys go nuts on occasion there are lots youtube videos of scam baiters. Look for Kitboga, IRLRosie, Jim Browning, Scammer Payback to start. Lots of others. Some of these talented individuals have kept the scammers tied up for days by stringing them along.
I saw those years ago, and laughed so hard at work, I drew attention from staff and customers. Fortunately, it was my business (now retired).
I have a list of contacts in my phone (friends, family members, employer, coworkers, doctor, dentist, etc. If I get a call from an unknown number (and they seem to be increasing) I DON’T ANSWER THE PHONE. It’s as simple as that.
I always ask them why they sound like Apu from the Simpsons.
Just ask them to call you back in an hour at your office so you can wire the funds, and give them the local FBI number.
Perhaps it was her savings ACCOUNT? $38k in the bank and she transfers over dividends, pensions, stock money monthly?
Had some nutless monkey (with a mexican accent) call me from a New Mexico Number 505-450-3361 (I live in Alabama).
Guy said he was a Federal Agent. I interrupted him cold and demanded his name and badge number. Robert James badge number 417J2709. He began to say something about an investigation and warrant blah blah blah. I asked for his supervisors name. Dave Miller 555-367-3000. Phone call went on for maybe 5 minutes and both of us were getting pissed. He said something like “you can hang up on me but this case....” I said “whats the case number”? And he hung up on me. I called the 505-450-3361 number back and it was some (supposedly) Residential Construction Contractor called Marquez Works. The guy that answered said his name was Jeff Marquez. I grilled him with questions and he rudely hung up....imagine that. Fk I hate these people!
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