New York magazine's financial columnist Charlotte Cowles fell victim to an elaborate scam, losing $50,000 to con artists posing as Amazon, FTC, and CIA agents who convinced her she was under investigation for money laundering. Despite her financial acumen, Cowles was manipulated into withdrawing the money and handing it over to a stranger, feeling violated and questioning her own judgment. Her detailed account serves as a cautionary tale about how even the most financially aware individuals can be deceived by scammers.
After seeing a news story about a victim of a gift card scam, Wegmans called the victim, apologized, and provided him with a new $100 gift card. The scam, known as "card draining," involves thieves stealing gift cards, recording the serial and pin numbers, and draining the funds before the recipient even receives the card. Police have made recent arrests in connection with this scam, recovering thousands of tampered gift cards. To avoid tampered cards, it is recommended to purchase gift cards from the customer service desk rather than off the rack.
Marjorie Bloom, a 77-year-old widow, fell victim to a tech support scam and lost $661,000. The scam involved a fraudster posing as a "fraud investigator" from PNC Bank who convinced Bloom to liquidate her savings and transfer the funds to cryptocurrency to protect them from criminals. However, the scammer disappeared, leaving Bloom devastated and realizing she had been defrauded of everything. This type of fraud is increasingly common and targets older adults, who lost $588 million to tech support scams in 2022. Older adults are particularly vulnerable to fraud due to their limited understanding of technology and online safety.
Convicted fraudster Billy McFarland, known for the disastrous Fyre Festival in 2017, claims that tickets for Fyre Festival II have sold out, with prices ranging from $799 to $7,999. The event's location and lineup remain undisclosed, and the vague description raises concerns about empty promises. McFarland, who spent four years in prison for defrauding investors, announced his plans via a YouTube video and stated that he has secured funding to repay the original festival's investors and develop a Broadway musical about the event. Rapper Ja Rule, who was involved in the first festival, will not be part of the second attempt.
A divorced mom-of-three lost her entire 401(K) to a scammer she met on Tinder who convinced her to invest in bogus cryptocurrency schemes. The scam, known as 'pig butchering,' involves building a fake romantic relationship before butchering victims with fraudulent investment advice. The woman is the third victim to come forward in recent months, with officials saying the con is exploding across the US. The FBI's Internet Crimes Complaint Center shows cryptocurrency scams are the fastest-growing type of investment fraud, with victims reporting losses of $2.57 billion last year.
