Remember the saga of Linda K. Simmons, the grandmother and novelist from Moneta?
Earlier this month, a smooth-talking con man persuaded the 71-year-old to withdraw thousands in cash from her bank and deposit it into a Bitcoin automatic teller at a 麻花视频 gas station.
Simmons got taken for $15,000 in the 鈥渏ury-duty鈥 scam. And since that Aug. 14 column I鈥檝e heard from more actual and 鈥渁lmost鈥 scam victims.
One is a northwest 麻花视频 couple, Ewell and Louise Beirne, who were cheated out of $75,000 at the end of July. Another is Pierre Jacoebee, a retired Virginia Tech professor. He was hit with the same scam as the Beirnes, but lost no money.
Ewell and Louise Beirne of 麻花视频 were scammed for tens of thousands in July after Ewell called a phone number in a pop-up window on his computer that warned their bank account was in jeopardy. The pop-up was the beginning of a scam that cost the couple $75,000.
Confidence games against seniors are growing more common, said Ron Boyd, executive director of the Local Office on Aging. That鈥檚 one reason the agency is planning a senior legal conference in 麻花视频 next month that鈥檚 open to the public.
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Sponsored by the 麻花视频 Law Foundation, the conference happens 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Harvest Ministries, 809 Blue Ridge Blvd. in Bonsack. Breakfast and lunch are included. There鈥檚 no charge, but LOA is asking folks to register in advance.
Among the conference topics are end-of-life planning, home health care, asset preservation, scams and identity theft.
鈥淚t鈥檚 escalated over the years,鈥 Boyd said of confidence games used against seniors. The scammers 鈥減lay off striking fear in you. They know the buttons to push. It鈥檚 terrible.鈥
LOA isn鈥檛 the only local agency trying to steer seniors away from scams. Another is AARP, the American Association of Retired Persons. On Sept. 24 at Trinity Ecumenical Parish in Moneta, AARP is sponsoring a presentation about senior scams and fraud protection.
There, the chief presenter will be Shannon Abell, a retired LOA manager.
Wednesday, when I described to Abell how Ewell and Louise Beirne lost $75,000 from their Wells Fargo account, Abell said he heard almost the exact same story 18 months ago, told by a local senior. She lost $20,000 from her Bank of Botetourt account.
鈥淪he鈥檚 not ignorant. She鈥檚 not stupid,鈥 Abell said. 鈥淪he panicked after she got a pop-up on her computer. We hear this all the time.鈥
Louise Beirne, 82, told me their problem started July 29 when Ewell, 79, turned on his computer and called up their Wells Fargo bank account. A pop-up message on his screen warned him the account had been compromised, and to call a phone number.
He did. The man on the other end informed Beirne that scammers were trying to steal money out of their account. The guy advised Beirne he should withdraw the money to thwart the scam.
Beirne visited at least three Wells Fargo branches that day. One didn鈥檛 have enough cash on hand to help him, he said. At another he withdrew $30,000, and at a third he took out $20,000. The money was in a box somewhat smaller than a bread loaf pan.
The scammer instructed Beirne to stay on the phone with him through the bank visits, and to not tell anyone what he was doing. When bank tellers told Beirne they believed he was being scammed, he denied it and told them he needed the money for home renovations.
The scammer told Beirne to hang onto that cash, and that 鈥渁 government agent鈥 would visit their house to pick up the money that afternoon, so that it could be stashed in a 鈥渟ecure account.鈥 It would later be refunded, he said.
Louise said a 鈥渟cruffy young woman鈥 with short hair showed up about 4:30 p.m. and left with the money. Video from a neighbor鈥檚 doorbell camera captured the woman, who walked to the couple鈥檚 house, rather than driving there.
The next day, the scammer called Ewell back and warned him that money remaining in his savings account was still in jeopardy. So Beirne visited Wells Fargo鈥檚 Tanglewood branch, transferred $25,000 to his checking account and withdrew it.
Noticing that he was on his phone, a teller there passed Beirne a note, asking if someone was listening in on the transaction. He replied no.
鈥淎ll (the tellers) asked why I wanted the money,鈥 Beirne said. 鈥淭hey tried to talk me out of (withdrawing the cash). I wish I鈥檇 listened.鈥
The caller instructed him to put that $25,000 into a Bitcoin ATM at a convenience store on Melrose Avenue 鈥 and Beirne did. The scammers managed to steal all but $4,000 of the couple鈥檚 savings.
麻花视频 Detective Tracy Hoke later interviewed the couple. Ewell Beirne said 鈥渋n cases like this they aren鈥檛 usually able to recover money.鈥
麻花视频 police did not respond Wednesday to my request for information about the case.
Jacoebee, 82, got a pop-up note that his Wells Fargo account had been frozen when he called up his account.
According to that warning, to unfreeze his account he had to call a phone number. The note appeared genuine because it used Wells Fargo鈥檚 logo, Jacoebee said.
The man who answered advised Jacoebee to withdraw all the money from his Wells Fargo account so thieves couldn鈥檛 get it 鈥 and to deposit it into a Bitcoin ATM at a 麻花视频 grocery store. It would later be returned to him.
Instead, Jacoebee did what many experts advise anyone in such circumstances to do: Visit the bank personally and inquire about the frozen account.
When Jacoebee went in person to Wells Fargo and inquired, a teller told him the ruse was a scam, and that his money was secure.
(The next day, Jacoebee said, the scammer called him and left an obscene message.)
鈥淲e鈥檝e all had a weak, busy moment where we鈥檙e susceptible,鈥 Boyd told me. 鈥淭he scammers can sense that vulnerability.鈥
Abell said when he describes these scams to audiences, the typical reaction is disbelief that victims fall for them. But logic often takes a holiday when someone is panicking, he noted.
The con artists are very good at what they do, he said.
Victims, 鈥渁re in a panic,鈥 Abell said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e afraid their money is going to be stolen.鈥
