MADISON, Wis. — According to the Federal Trade Commission, people reported losing $10 billion to scams in 2023; that’s $1 billion more than in 2022.
Every day Americans receive texts and phone calls from unknown numbers and people could be one phone call away from losing everything.
Francis Everly was using her personal computer when she said it started to go crazy.
“It was making screeching noises. It had a notice saying Microsoft, please call this number,” said Everly.
Francis Everly is not her real name. We changed her name out of concern for her privacy.
Everly said the first mistake she made was calling the phone number that appeared on her computer.
“I called the number, and they said someone was trying to scam my bank account,” said Everly.
The people on the phone were not in the U.S. and did not work for her bank, but at that time Everly did not know that.
“They are telling me they are going to steal all of my money if I don’t get to the bank and withdraw it,” said Everly.
The people on the phone were telling her she needed to go to the bank, withdraw all of her money, and transfer it into cryptocurrency in an encrypted account. She then went to her bank and took out over $6,000.
“The bank tellers did not even ask me what I wanted my money for because I was clearing out my accounts,” said Everly.
While this was happening, the scammers were still on the phone in her pocket.
Everly said she thought about taking out her phone and discreetly telling the bank teller what was happening, but at that point she was scared for her life.
She then went to a Bitcoin ATM and transferred all of her money.
“I was scared. I didn’t know if they were watching me, if they followed me or if they were close by because they said we can see you,” said Everly.
Detective Gwen Ruppert and Detective Michelle Viney are with the Dane County Sheriff’s office.
They say stories like Everly’s are very common.
“You get a pop-up message on your computer and if you call that number for 'Microsoft,' then they talk you into removing your money for safekeeping,” said Detective Viney.
Viney said her team has worked on cases where people lost tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands and even millions of dollars.
“These frauds, they are hitting us hard here in Dane County, all over the state, all over the United States, probably all over the world and we are getting sick of it,” said Detective Viney.
She said the first and hardest thing they have to tell victims of these scams is that the chances of them getting their money back is almost zero.
While government agencies are doing their best to locate and arrest scammers, they are often located outside of the U.S. and out of the reach of local law enforcement.
Detective Viney encourages people to report their stories to the FBI with the hope that it can collect enough evidence to pursue scammers.
To report your story, you can follow this link.
If you think you are being scammed, it is important to call someone you know and trust before doing anything with your money.
