An 81 year-old woman says she’s lost her entire life savings to a Social Security scam.
Washington, D.C.-based Gladys Baxley says she recently received a call from someone claiming to be with the Social Security Administration, reports the CBS-affiliated news station WUSA9.
When the caller said Baxley’s Social Security number was in the hands of fraudsters, she asked him to prove it.
She then received an email with a fake certificate supposedly from the “U.S. Supreme Court House,” stating she needed to move her money in order to protect it.
After being convinced by the email, Baxley ended up sending more than $109,000 from her bank directly into the hands of the criminals in several transactions, including $15,000 that she withdrew in cash and mailed via UPS.
Baxley’s sons say the bank should bear some responsibility for failing to inquire about the large transactions, and because the money was sent to illegitimate entities.
Baxley’s lender, Eagle Bank, says it reviewed Baxley’s transactions and believes the bank follows proper protocols.
“Although, it is Eagle Bank policy to not comment on the specifics of any of our customer’s financial transactions, following a thorough internal investigation, we determined our team members followed all correct protocols.
Every effort is being undertaken to work with Ms. Baxley to recover money from the fraudster.”
According to the FBI, scams hitting people over the age of 60 increased 11% in 2022, reaching $3.4 billion.
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