Fraudster Claims To Be Apple Security Tricked Thousands Of Dollars From The Elderly

JAKARTA - An elderly woman from punctuation, Kansas, suffered a loss of more than $5,500 after becoming a victim of an online scam on behalf of "Apple Security." This scam stems from a text message received by Shawna Perdue on her iPhone, claiming that her Apple ID had been used to make purchases. If she did not make the purchase, she was asked to call a specific number.

This case is an example of high-volume fraud, in which similar messages are sent to many people. Even though only a small number called that number, the number remains large enough to make this scheme profitable for fraudsters.

Perdue, unfortunately, followed the directive and began talking to a con artist who assured him that hackers would use his Apple ID to drain his bank account. Under pressure of fear and full confidence on the con artist, Perdue was directed to transfer thousands of dollars to Venmo cards and use the funds to buy a $3,500 reward card at two local Home Depot stores.

This scam was so convincing that the victim took action without realizing that no legal company would ask someone to buy a gift card as a problem solving method. After giving the gift card numbers to the fraudsters, Perdue's funds disappeared, and the bank was unable to return the money that had been spent voluntarily.

Efforts by the Community to Help Perdue After this incident, Perdue reported it to the Badminton Police Department and the Federal Trade Commission. A GoFundMe page was also created to help recover Perdue's losses. To date, efforts to raise funds have raised about 4,840 US dollars out of 51 donations. Chadwick, Perdue's daughter, said that her mother's loss was "a little larger" than the $5,500 fundraising target.

"He was devastated by this scam. He was angry, especially at himself," Chadwick wrote in a post on GoFundMe. Chadwick also thanked donors who had helped his mother, calling it "helping restore her mother's faith and spiritual beliefs."

It is important for us to protect those closest to us, especially those who are vulnerable to fraud that comes in the form of text messages, emails, or online pop-ups. Providing real information and stories, such as Perdue's experience, can be an effective way to raise awareness.

In general, notifications asking for immediate action regarding certain threats are almost always online scams. Apple itself has a special page to help victims of gift card scams and encourages them to report the incident.