Oh, dear. A tennis friend of mine got scammed.

This friend is a retired PE teacher, and she founded a charitable organization to get kids playing more sports or something. I never participated or donated, but she is really into it. So good for her.

Well, one day she got a voicemail from the IRS. When she returned the call, the caller told her that the IRS had learned that thieves had hacked the bank account of the charity account, which had a balance of about $16,000. They informed her that she needed to remove all of the money in the account before the thieves did and send it to the IRS for safekeeping.

My friend became very concerned, especially since the caller was able to confirm many details about her that only the IRS would know. It sounded so official. So she drained the account and FedX'd cash to the address the IRS had provided. Then she thought about it and decided to call the police to get them to investigate. And they told her it was a scam.

I'm gobsmacked. I mean, this lady is is educated and is not impaired. How did she fall for this? Apparently, a second person in the area also fell for this lame scam. Police apparently have video of the person picking up the Fed Ex package my friend sent, but good luck recovering the money.

Cindy -- who would never get scammed like this because she doesn't listen to voicemail

Classic scam. The IRS doesn't just call up people.

If your account gets hacked, that's the bank's problem, right?

OMG! I agree, I can't believe someone fell for that. I could see being taken in at first, but as soon as they get to the "send us all your money for safekeeping" part? No, alarm bells gotta go off then.

OMG. I feel so bad for her. But still, wow. smh.

quote:

Originally posted by Cindysphinx:
If your account gets hacked, that's the bank's problem, right?

I believe so, for the most part. But, there may be a delay before you get your money back... I don't know what other limitations there are on that sort of thing.

Hmmm.

She will probably be investigated - that was charity money. The IRS and law enforcement both look very askance at such things. I hope she can prove the communications.

The first questions are always, what's your name? What office do you work for? What's your callback number?

And then you call that office (look up the number yourself) and ask to speak to that person.

quote:

Originally posted by QuirtEvans:
The first questions are always, what's your name? What office do you work for? What's your callback number?

And then you call that office (look up the number yourself) and ask to speak to that person.

That is good advice

It is if your intentions are good. If they are not, “Oh, I got scammed” is a plausible dodge.

Why did one person, on her own initiative, get to drain the account of a charity. I suspect she is liable for replacing that money from her own sources. And, .... I don't feel particularly bad in saying that about your friend. She made a wacko choice and is now likely responsible for reimbursing the charity.

quote:

Originally posted by Mikhailoh:
She will probably be investigated - that was charity money. The IRS and law enforcement both look very askance at such things. I hope she can prove the communications.

I imagine they will be investigating it. I'd be surprised if she cooked it up. It would be very easy to get caught.

She's the CEO, so I imagine she had the authority to remove the money. What doesn't make sense is how the scammers would know she was the person who could remove the money. I guess anything is possible, but that part is weird. Like, if they just had her phone number, SSN last four digits, name and address, how did the charity's name come up? Why didn't she take the money from her own account?

My rule, and one I try to pass on, is that if I didn’t initiate the call or the email I treat it as spam. I don’t click on anything I didn’t ask for.

So far so good.

Being the founder and on the board of two 501c3 corps it makes no sense at all to me that she did not contact another board member before doing this.

quote:

My rule, and one I try to pass on, is that if I didn’t initiate the call or the email I treat it as spam. I don’t click on anything I didn’t ask for

This. There are times when there’s a call that’s legit, but I always assume an attitude of suspicion if it’s an incoming call or email. You pretty much can’t go wrong with that approach.