The names in this article have been changed to protect the victim.
This is Bonners Ferry. Yes, scams can happen even here, especially to the elderly. Though they can happen to anyone, the elderly are often more susceptible. Why? According to Nona, “Technology is significantly different compared to how I grew up. I used to be able to trust the person on the other end of the phone or text.”
The level of trust in people is a factor and criminals’ prey on people who are naïve and trusting.
“I didn’t have a smart phone until I was in my 60s,” Nona goes on, “I use to be able to answer the phone and be able to trust the person who called. Not anymore. The world has sure changed.”
Nona moved to Bonners Ferry in 2023 to live with her daughter and family after her husband passed away.
Nona is in her 70s but is still responsible for her own finances, drives, goes grocery shopping, visits grandchildren and all the other things many women in their 70s do.
She’s trusting and cares deeply for her family.
In May, Nona received a text message that appeared to have been a fraud alert from Paypal. She responded to the text and clicked the link to dispute the charge on her Paypal account.
Well, Nona didn’t have Paypal. After clicking the link, she received a call from someone saying that he was Kevin Francis from the United States Department of Treasury.
This answered call spurred a week’s long conversation between Nona and the supposed U.S. Department of Treasury employee. Nona did not tell her daughter or anyone else for fear of harm coming to them.
The alleged U.S. Department of Treasury employee told Nona that she needed to get $40,000 in cash and gold and have it sent FedEx to Washington D.C., or the drug cartel would kill her family. So, she did.
A week later, Kevin called her back and told her that they had not received her money, and she needed to send more. So, she did.
This happened a total of three times and a grand total of $100,000.
What should Nona have done?
9B.News reached out to law enforcement and asked for some tips for our readers. This is what they said:
- No federal agency will request money over the phone unless you have called them, i.e. you get a letter from the IRS on IRS letterhead and you call them.
- Most of these scams are going to ask that money be sent by western union or go to a Bitcoin machine. Tracking down bitcoin after someone transfers money into it is very difficult, and that is why the scammers are using this tactic.
If you have been a victim of phone scam, tell someone and report it to your local law enforcement. They will direct you what to do and where to report it.