Real scam stories

The phone rang on a Tuesday afternoon. A man said he was from the bank's fraud department, and he already knew her address and the last four digits of her card. He said her account was being drained right now, and to stop it she had to read back the code he would text her. Margaret read it back, and $31,000 was gone.

The text looked routine: a package could not be delivered, and George just needed to confirm his address and pay a $1.95 redelivery fee. He was expecting a parcel that week, so he tapped the link and entered his card. The $1.95 went through fine. Over the next several days, so did $2,300 in charges he never made.

The email looked like it came from PayPal. It said her account had just been charged $499, and if she had not made the purchase, she should call the number right away. The woman on the line was reassuring: to reverse the charge, Carol would just need to buy a few gift cards and read off the numbers. Carol drove to three stores that afternoon. She lost $16,000.

The call came with wonderful news: Ruth had won a major prize, tens of thousands of dollars. There was only one step left. Before the winnings could be released, she needed to cover the taxes and a small handling fee up front. Ruth sent the first payment. Then another. Then another. She never won anything, and the money never came back.

A warning filled Frank's screen: his security subscription had renewed for $399, call this number for a refund. The technician was polite and asked to connect to Frank's computer to process it. While Frank watched, the man typed in what looked like too many zeros, then said Frank had been refunded far too much and needed to send the difference back. The account that drained that afternoon was Frank's own.

He first wrote to her under a photo she had posted of her late husband's garden. He was gentle, he messaged every single morning, and within a few weeks Eleanor felt less alone than she had in years. Then his work trip overseas hit a snag, and he needed a little help with a customs fee, just for now. Over three months she sent $7,000 to a man she had never once met in person.

The phone woke her before dawn. A young, shaky voice said, "Grandma, it's me, I've been in an accident." He said he was scared, that he needed money right away to sort it out, and please, please do not tell Mom and Dad. Doris did not stop to think. She wanted to help her grandson. She wired $9,000 before the sun was up.