Helping Elderly Scam Victim Recover Savings
Donation protected
Kansas City Police stopped scammers after they learned they had defrauded an elderly woman of at least $75,000, and police encourage everyone to warn their elderly loved ones of such scams.
She and her son's entire life savings was depleted. We are now trying to help them rebuild their savings to pay for monthly expenses. This money is going directly to their family.
Target store employees alerted police on Dec. 2, 2020, that an elderly woman had purchased at least $60,000 worth of prepaid gift cards at their Northland stores located at Interstate 35 and Chouteau and 152 Highway and Church Road since Nov. 24. She paid in cash each time. Employees had tried to warn her that she might be a scam victim. They did not know her identity.
Police shared a photo of the woman hoping to identify her. They received tips leading to her identity within an hour. In that time, however, she had already purchased an additional $2,000 in gift cards from a Best Buy store. When the employee tried to warn her she may be getting scammed, she told the employee she feared for her life.
Police met with her as soon as they learned who she was and where she lived. They learned the 78-year-old woman had lost a total of at least $75,000 from the bank accounts she shares with her son. The scammers had gotten access to her account, and each day they ordered her how much money to withdraw to purchase gift cards, and where to have her transfer the amount from the cards.
She initially lied to police about whom she was purchasing the cards for. She eventually revealed that the scammers told her she was being followed, and warned her not to call police, or something bad was going to happen to her or her son.
The morning of Dec. 3, Economic Crimes Unit detectives met with the woman, taking her to her banks to advise them of the fraud, close the accounts that had been compromised and open new ones the scammers could not access. While helping her, the scammers called. One of the detectives answered the victim’s phone. He advised the caller – who had a foreign accent – that the game was up, and they would no longer be able to victimize the woman.
“There was no doubt in my mind they were going to get every last cent she had if it kept going,” Economic Crimes Sergeant Sebastian Hanriot said.
The money will go to Betty Russell and her son Steven Green to help replenish their savings. This fundraiser was organized by the KCPD.
See more at https://www.kcpd.org/media/news-releases/police-step-in-after-elderly-woman-falls-victim-to-scam/.
She and her son's entire life savings was depleted. We are now trying to help them rebuild their savings to pay for monthly expenses. This money is going directly to their family.
Target store employees alerted police on Dec. 2, 2020, that an elderly woman had purchased at least $60,000 worth of prepaid gift cards at their Northland stores located at Interstate 35 and Chouteau and 152 Highway and Church Road since Nov. 24. She paid in cash each time. Employees had tried to warn her that she might be a scam victim. They did not know her identity.
Police shared a photo of the woman hoping to identify her. They received tips leading to her identity within an hour. In that time, however, she had already purchased an additional $2,000 in gift cards from a Best Buy store. When the employee tried to warn her she may be getting scammed, she told the employee she feared for her life.
Police met with her as soon as they learned who she was and where she lived. They learned the 78-year-old woman had lost a total of at least $75,000 from the bank accounts she shares with her son. The scammers had gotten access to her account, and each day they ordered her how much money to withdraw to purchase gift cards, and where to have her transfer the amount from the cards.
She initially lied to police about whom she was purchasing the cards for. She eventually revealed that the scammers told her she was being followed, and warned her not to call police, or something bad was going to happen to her or her son.
The morning of Dec. 3, Economic Crimes Unit detectives met with the woman, taking her to her banks to advise them of the fraud, close the accounts that had been compromised and open new ones the scammers could not access. While helping her, the scammers called. One of the detectives answered the victim’s phone. He advised the caller – who had a foreign accent – that the game was up, and they would no longer be able to victimize the woman.
“There was no doubt in my mind they were going to get every last cent she had if it kept going,” Economic Crimes Sergeant Sebastian Hanriot said.
The money will go to Betty Russell and her son Steven Green to help replenish their savings. This fundraiser was organized by the KCPD.
See more at https://www.kcpd.org/media/news-releases/police-step-in-after-elderly-woman-falls-victim-to-scam/.
Organizer
Steven Green And Betty Russell
Organizer
Kansas City, MO
