New London — Kathleen Mitchell says she thinks of herself as a smart woman.
It’s all the more reason she remains stunned that she recently fell prey to what appears to be a phishing scam that cost her $1,000, money swiped her Venmo account. Phishing is a type of scam that uses a call or email to trick someone into turning over sensitive information. The Federal Trade Commission, in a report last year said these so-called imposter scams top the list of fraud activity that cost consumers billions of dollars.
Mitchell, 80, who runs a popular New London-focused Facebook page called Whale Tales Two, received a Facebook message Monday warning her that Your Facebook page is scheduled to be permanently removed due to violating our trademark rights.”
Her page has been frozen in the past for violations of Facebook policy, so she did not perceive anything out of the ordinary in the message. She doesn’t recall whether she clicked on the message’s attached link but did search Google about what to do if a Facebook page is compromised. She said she clicked the first link that came up.
“Before I knew it someone contacted me,” Mitchell said. “This guy gets on and explains this is what you have to do. He was very nice.”
Mitchell followed a series of instructions that included downloading an app on her phone. She thought the caller was being helpful.
“He was very good. I’m thinking a scammer is in and out. He kept me on the phone for a long time, asking all these questions,” Mitchell said.
By the time Mitchell’s daughter picked up the phone to intervene, Mitchell said the $964.90 had already disappeared from her Venmo account. How the scammer got her Venmo information is a mystery to her. She said she pursued a refund from Venmo but was quickly denied.
“I think I’m so smart. I never thought I could get scammed. Guess what?” Mitchell said.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, has tips posted online to avoid phishing scams and warns of any messages that ask for personal information or links.
“These messages may also claim that your account will be banned or deleted if you don’t follow their directions. If they get into your account, they may use your account to send spam,” the message reads.
New London Police Capt. Todd Bergeson said scams are plentiful, varied and often target the elderly. One of the newer ones he’s come across is an EZPass scam in which a text message appears to report an outstanding toll bill. Logging onto the fake account will expose a person’s personal banking information.
Last year, a New London couple reported losing their life savings of $14,000 after falling victim to a cyberscam and were duped by a fake Microsoft support representative. Bergeson said another popular scam involves fake calls from police or court officials asking for money because of a relative in legal trouble. Bergeson recalls one local case where his own name and the name of the police chief was used to try and trick the victim. He said he called the number provided by the scam victim to find a man posing as himself answered the phone.
Bergeson suggests that victims contact police even though some of the investigations can be beyond the capabilities of local police departments. Public education, Bergeson said, is the most important tool in preventing fraud.
“And if something seems funny, it probably is, Bergeson said.
One of Mitchell’s daughters has set up a GoFundMe online fundraiser in an attempt to recoup the stolen money. The fundraiser is online at gofundme.com.
The Federal Trade Commission offers the following tips to avoid a scam:
1. Block unwanted calls and text messages.
2. Don’t give your personal or financial information in response to a request that you didn’t expect.
3. If you get an email or text message from a company you do business with and you think it’s real, it’s still best not to click on any links. Instead, contact them using a website you know is trustworthy. Or look up their phone number. Don’t call a number they gave you or the number from your caller ID.
4. Resist the pressure to act immediately. Honest businesses will give you time to make a decision. Anyone who pressures you to pay or give them your personal information is a scammer.
5. Know how scammers tell you to pay. Never pay someone who insists that you can only pay with cryptocurrency, a wire transfer service like Western Union or MoneyGram, a payment app, or a gift card. And never deposit a check and send money back to someone.
6. Stop and talk to someone you trust. Before you do anything else, tell someone — a friend, a family member, a neighbor — what happened. Talking about it could help you realize it’s a scam.
