WARREN, Mich. – Martina Linton of Warren is 74 years old, and spends her retirement spoiling her beloved Afghan hounds, Jack and Bella. Back in May, a frightening
phone call interrupted her regular routine and started a wild ride.
"Well, I didn't know if I was gonna have a heart attack. I mean my heart was racing," she said. Someone called Linton claiming to be with the IRS. He said she needed to pay $2900 right away.
"Telling me he was going to put a freeze on my Social Security and I says oh my goodness. You know my driver's license. That did it," Linton told Ruth to the Rescue.
Frantic Race For Cash
Many times victims of this scam are told to use Green Dot cards or wire transfers to make the payment. Linton was told to put the phone down and rush to her Bank of America bank to get $2900 in cash.
Linton described what the caller told her, "Do not hang up, because if you do, as soon as you hang up, we're going to alert the sheriff and you will be picked up and you can get up to five years in prison."
She left her landline phone off the hook and raced to her Bank of America branch on Schoenherr. She took $2,900 in cash from a home equity loan and returned home for more instructions. She was told to go back to the same bank and deposit the money into another Bank of America account she believed was in Barstow, California.
Although Linton was too scared to ask for help, she is surprised by how the teller handled the situation.
"I says is that a California Bank of America account and she says 'I can't give you any of that information'. I said, Oh, my money is going into where I'm not supposed to know where it's going. I mean isn't that a red flag," Linton explained later.
We asked Bank of America if the teller could have handled that situation better. Senior Vice-President of Media Relations Diane Wagner released a statement saying in part, "I would like to reiterate that if a customer makes a transaction and authorizes it, it is their responsibility. It's important for customers to know who they are doing business with,"
The bank couldn't say much more because of privacy concerns, but does say it's investigation is now complete and the teller followed proper procedures.
Laughing At Police
Linton also contacted Warren police. "These criminals are getting more and more sophisticated. They create so many layers of deceit," said Detective Scott Salisbury of the Warren Police Department's Fraud Unit.
He shares Linton's frustration. When police started their investigation they called the scammers on the phone, and found the scammer to be bold and brazen.
Linton told Ruth to the Rescue what happened during that call with police, "So, he started laughing and said... that year he scammed me. Admitted it!"
"These people just seem to have no sympathy. No empathy. They know they're doing wrong," said Detective Salisbury.
The police subpoenaed records from Bank of America and are working with detectives in California, but Detective Salisbury says tracking these criminals is tough.
"With the money transfers it goes to another state. Then, they'll immediately take the money out of the bank account and switch it to another one," he explained. Salisbury says its very important for everyone to educate themselves about these scams, and avoid giving them your hard-earned money.
That leaves Linton hoping and waiting for justice. "He should be incarcerated and I hope he doesn't keep getting away with it with innocent people," she said.
Scam Alert Week
The Ruth to the Rescue consumer unit receives many complaints about scams each week. The IRS scam is definitely one of the most common complaints we receive, but there are many others. This week (July 21st - July 24th) on Local 4, Ruth to the Rescue will do a new Scam Alert every day, starting at 5 p.m. We hope you will watch and tell your friends and family (especially seniors) to tune in.
Local 4 Consumer Expert Ruth Spencer will highlight some of the most common scams, as well as a newer one making the rounds. On Thursday, July 23rd,we will have a live phone bank of experts from the Better Business Bureau to answer questions about scams: How to spot them? How to handle those calls?
How to verify any claims that might disturb you?
Join us in the fight against scam artists who are trying to steal your money!
Bank Of America Statement
A spokesperson for Bank of America said, due to privacy reasons, the bank cannot comment on the specifics of Martina Linton's case. The bank did release this statement and some web links that could help consumers in similar positions, or those who receive similar frightening calls.
"I would like to reiterate that if a customer makes a transaction and authorizes it, it is their responsibility. It's important for customers to know who they are doing business with. For privacy reasons, we cannot share information about one customers' account with another customer.
We encourage customers to be cautious about receiving unsolicited offers of money, especially from people they do not know. They should know who they are doing business with because if it's too good to be true, it probably isn't. Another caution is to not agree to send, deposit or wire money back to anyone especially if you are not familiar with them."
Diane Wagner, Senior Vice-President of Media Relations
Bank of America also offered these links to further information:
Also, the Federal Trade Commission has helpful information on their website preventing fraud and scams. Click here to go to that site.