In Winter Garden, Florida, there is a growing trend of scammers pretending to be bank employees to deceive people, leaving them devastated and in some cases, without their savings.
Cindy Burns of Winter Springs recounts how it all began with a simple text message.
“Your photos, data, bank information, and cards are at risk,” the message warned.
It claimed there was a suspicious charge to her Apple account and a sign-in request.
The text urged her to speak with an Apple representative immediately to cancel the charge.
When she called, the scammers convinced her that her bank account had been compromised and that she needed to withdraw her money.
Burns says she didn’t feel suspicious at all.
A victim shared, “I fell for it. He sounded so convincing. I truly believed everything he told me.” She expressed feeling violated and taken advantage of beyond her imagination.
Burns made two withdrawals, one for just under $9,000 and another for just over $6,000.
Through social engineering, the crooks persuaded her to convert the $15,000 to Bitcoin, which she unknowingly sent directly to them.
“What was I thinking? Departing with all my money that I could just hand it over like that, but I did,” she said.
The Federal Trade Commission reported that in the previous year, Americans suffered a $12.8 billion loss due to various scams, with imposter schemes being among the top three in terms of losses.
“Everybody is susceptible to a social engineering scam,” said Roger Grimes, a cybersecurity expert and author of numerous books on the topic.
He emphasized the importance of not underestimating the power of social engineering, which involves building trust and manipulating individuals to divulge personal information.
“I just think that if you get hit at the right moment in your life with the right type of scam, that we’re all susceptible to something, even though we thought we were not,” Grimes warned.
To protect yourself, experts offer these tips:
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If you receive a text claiming to be from your bank or a company you do business with, do not call the number in the text.
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If someone calls claiming to be from your bank, hang up and call the bank yourself.
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If anyone ever asks you to convert money to cryptocurrency, experts say there is a good chance it’s a scam.
“You can’t trust anything that comes over your phone. You just can’t. There are too many scams out there,” Burns cautioned.
Remember, don’t fall for the scheme and don’t get ripped off, but if you do, email me at [email protected].
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