ASHEBORO, N.C. (WGHP) — Tech scams are the most common way elderly people are defrauded, and one woman in Asheboro is out $25,000 after falling victim to a complicated scheme.
Scammers used fear and threats and impersonated law enforcement officials.
Detective Marcus Pierce says he is dedicated to following every lead to find a man who he says is a suspect in the case.
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Asheboro police looking for suspect accused of defrauding elderly woman -
Asheboro police looking for suspect accused of defrauding elderly woman
“She was trying to get some assistance with her mobile device. She ended up getting online for some assistance, and she got in touch with someone … It ended up being a scammer,” Pierce said.
The elderly woman who suffers from dementia was then caught in an escalating loop of fear and control. She was told to load smaller amounts of money on gift cards.
“Eventually, he had her withdraw a large sum of money … and meet him at a gas station before he took that. She was just trying to get help with her mobile device,” Pierce said.
Her daughter-in-law doesn’t want her name shared publicly out of fear she could be targeted again, so we spoke on the phone.
She said the scammer told her mother-in-law he would go to her home and claimed to be a police officer at one point.
She went on to say as soon as she learned her mother-in-law gave an unknown man a lot of cash at the local Asheboro gas station, they went straight to police department headquarters.
Pierce says their story was tough to hear because it hit close to home.
“My aunt before she passed away was a victim of one of the lonely heart scams, so I can really relate to victims on stuff like this,” Pierce said.
Pierce says one of the top red flags is anyone asking you to put money on a card.
Both Pierce and the victim’s daughter-in-law say if you spot an elderly person trying to withdraw a ton of money or buying dozens of gift cards, look out for them and encourage them to ask for help.
“Sometimes, they don’t want to feel like a burden … Call your local police department or sheriff’s office, and we’ll be more than happy to try and help,” he said.
He also says to check in with elderly loved ones regularly because the most common scams targeting the elderly in addition to tech scams are romance scams, in which a scammer pretends to be a love interest, and investment and health-related scams.
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