Text phishing scheme bilks Long Island woman out of $15,000. Here's how you can avoid becoming a victim.
The Suffolk County Police Financial Crimes Unit is investigating what it calls a growing trend of scammers targeting senior citizens with text messages.
One Long Island woman says she was bilked out of $15,000.
"You have been charged $126 via Apple Pay"
Lucille Daileader received a text that said, "You have been charged $126 via Apple Pay." The 78-year-old retired art teacher immediately deleted the message, but then her nightmare began. She said she received multiple calls from people claiming to be from Apple and her bank.
She said she was told, "Because my bank account was compromised, I should take $15,000 out of my savings account."
She said the alleged fraudsters then told her they'd open a new account with the money.
"So I got in the car and went to the bank. I said, 'Oh, I need this money for the movers,'" Daileader said.
She had recently moved into a new condo in Port Jefferson Station, and with the money in hand she returned home and placed the cash into a box and then waited next to her gated community to pass it off.
"The man gave me the password, so I figured it was legit, and he took the money and ran," she said.
Phishing schemes targeting seniors are on the rise, law enforcement says
According to the Federal Trade Commission, texting schemes skyrocketed five-fold last year, with victims losing a combined $470 million, but added most frauds go unreported.
Police say do not click or respond to these types of texts because most are phishing schemes.
Litigation attorney Andrew Leib says if you find yourself in a situation similar to Daileader's, call the police immediately.
"A civil litigator can't do much to get it back. I can't get blood from a stone, and these people are probably in some foreign country," Leib said.
"The police have a report of all the names and phone numbers," Daileader said. "I did go to a seminar with the district attorney's office, geared to scamming senior citizens. I feel embarrassed that I fell for it, but I feel I need to get word out to my friends so that it doesn't happen to anyone else, and I feel sad."
