‘I participated in my own robbery’: fake Apple support stole $1,000 from a local woman
News 8 On Your Side: A Quad Cities woman was simply attempting to cancel her Apple TV subscription. Instead, scammers cleaned out her checking account.
DAVENPORT, Iowa — Normally after we hear about rip-off calls, it is the scammers attempting to contact us, by calling and pretending to be somebody they don’t seem to be. But one local woman, who’s requested to stay nameless for this interview, says she reached to to them, unknowingly. And thus so, unknowingly participated in her own theft.
She was attempting to cancel her Apple TV subscription, and get a $10 cost refunded, however wasn’t getting anyplace by sending emails. Finally, she googled a telephone quantity for Apple support, and clicked on what gave the impression to be Apple’s web site.
After calling the quantity, the person on the opposite line instructed her he would cancel the subscription and refund the $10. But first, he wanted her to do one thing.
“He said ‘I’m having a problem refunding you. I’m gonna need you to download an app,'” she recalled. Of the 2 that she downloaded, one allowed him distant entry, and the opposite was Cash App, a peer to look cash transferring service.
“He had me enter some numbers and he said ‘I’m gonna take a dollar from your account now, just to make sure we’ve got an open line,'” she mentioned.
Eventually, he had her begin coming into numbers into Cash App… he known as them ‘code numbers,’ however in actuality, it was the quantity of withdrawals he was making from her checking account.
Within minutes, he had taken over a thousand {dollars} from her.
“I didn’t realize until I got off the phone and I received a fraud call from my credit union,” she mentioned. When she tried calling the quantity again, it had been disconnected, and the fake web site with the quantity was gone too.
“So that’s how I participated in my own robbery,” she remarked, earlier than explaining that whereas she’s disputing the fees together with her financial institution, there’s hardly any probability she’ll see the cash once more.
She says this is not the primary time scammers have contacted her, so it hits particularly onerous that this one was in a position to break by means of and steal her cash.
“It’s just made me doubt myself. I’ve had grandson calls from people that are not my grandsons trying to get bail money from me and I saw through that right away. I get these calls from Amazon all the time that someone’s charging on my prime card, and I don’t fall for those,” she mentioned.
It’s not unusual for scammers to pose as huge tech firms like Apple and Amazon. Randy Meier is the director of the Seniors vs. Crime division in the Clinton County Sherriff’s workplace. He says a majority of these phishing scams are widespread.
“It’s a cautionary tale to everyone that when you do a google search, just because you land on something that looks like it might be the right thing, don’t bet the farm on it,” he warns.
Meier says there are a number of crimson flags in her story that others can search for and keep away from. First, it is a crimson flag if companies begin asking you to obtain monetary merchandise or apps – even when they’re ones you are conversant in, and particularly if these apps permit them distant entry to your pc or gadget.
“That’s a huge warning sign right there,” mentioned Meier. “It’s really like giving someone the keys to your home and then providing them the combination to our safe at the same time.”
Second, companies should not ask you to pay any form of cash to cancel a subscription or obtain a refund.
Third, companies usually will not use financially mechanisms you are unfamiliar with, particularly large firms like Apple and Amazon.
And lastly, he says it is best to make use of a bank card when buying issues on-line, because it provides you a little safety in case you want to dispute a transaction.
“A peer to peer transaction, that’s like me handing you cash, and at that point, me getting my money back is based on your good will,” Meier mentioned.
At any level, in case you’re feeling uncomfortable otherwise you detect one thing is incorrect, he says it is best to simply grasp up the telephone; flip of your web; shut your pc down; and get a maintain of your financial institution instantly.
“It just hurts my heart. It hurts my pride. And it just makes me doubt myself. I’ve gotten so I don’t even want to answer the phone,” mentioned the woman.
She asks that everybody on the market watch out, and study to hold up the telephone if somebody asks so that you can obtain an app to allow them to assist you to.
“I thought well I’m smart, they’re not gonna get me. But they did,” she mentioned. “Lesson learned. Expensive lesson, but lesson learned.”
