Mary Ellen Strange never expected to become a scam expert. According to a PBS Kentucky Edition report, scammers posing as federal authorities took nearly $400,000 from the southern Indiana woman.
Now she’s sharing her story as a warning to others, and she’s teamed up with AARP to do it. The report says Americans lost more than $12 billion to scams in 2024, citing Federal Trade Commission data.
Her story shows how one phone call can spiral into a devastating scam.One unexpected phone call set off a months-long scam that cost a woman nearly $400,000. (AI-generated/ChatGPT)A noisy afternoon and a fake fraud callIn June 2024, carpet cleaners were in Strange’s house, and her dog was barking. She says she usually ignores calls from numbers she doesn't know, but in the commotion she picked up her phone.
According to AARP's report, the caller said he was from Amazon’s fraud detection unit and that Strange’s name was tied to a money laundering scheme. Strange hung up, but later wondered if someone hacked into her Amazon account.
She looked up an Amazon fraud number online and called it. The number was fake, and the man who answered passed her to a supposed FTC officer.How the scam took over her lifeThe supposed officer gave Strange two choices.
He told her she could face charges and a court case lasting five to eight years, or he could clear her accounts if she stayed quiet and acted quickly. She took the second.
That summer they spoke every day, usually two or three times. “He knew my schedule,” she says. He asked her to take out money to “document” it, promising her that the U.S.
Treasury Department would reimburse her. He sent her to ATMs, Bitcoin machines and gift card stores, and arranged three pickups of cash, gold coins and gold bars.
He also instructed her to drain one of her two annuities, which together were worth around $270,000. The annuity was only part of what she lost; the rest came from her other savings.FTC data show fraud losses at Bitcoin ATMs topped $65 million in the first half of 2024. (AI-generated/ChatGPT)Why Bitcoin machines show up in these scamsStrange’s case fits a pattern the FTC has tracked.
Its data spotlight on Bitcoin ATMs found that reported fraud losses at these machines increased nearly tenfold between 2020 and 2023. In the first half of 2024 alone, they exceeded $65 million.
The FTC says most fraud goes unreported, so the true losses are likely higher. Scammers text a QR code to scan at the machine, and when the victim does, the cash moves into the scammer’s wallet.The aftermath and her new missionIn August 2024, the caller said the government was going to lock her accounts that weekend.
Strange grew suspicious when her accounts were not locked, and her transfers still went through. The caller then went silent, and she realized it was a scam.
According to AARP, criminals stole about $378,000 over two months. Strange owed nearly $100,000 in federal taxes on the annuity money she took out.
She said it felt like a second blow from her own government. Since then, she has spoken to many groups, including through the U.S.
Department of Justice’s Elder Fraud Initiative, joined an AARP support group, and lobbied Indiana’s members of Congress to change tax laws that punish scam victims.Lessons worth rememberingStrange’s lessons are simple. Don’t Google customer service numbers, because the results can be fake.
Go to the official website of the company instead. If they tell you to keep something a total secret, tell you to lie, or a supposed federal officer asks you for money, it is a fraud.
Watch out for payments made in cryptocurrency, gold, gift cards, or prepaid cards, which leave little trace. The FTC suggests slowing down, talking to someone you trust, and never withdrawing cash because of an unexpected phone call.
Strange says she hopes sharing her story helps others recognize these warning signs before it’s too late.The Hindustan Times US Desk brings you the latest news and developments from across the United States. The team covers everything from breaking news and politics to sports, business, entertainment and stories that are trending across the country.
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