Victim Hands Over Large Amount Of Money To Fraudster

KENLY – Countless times, online scam victims never see the person who swindled them. In a rare case, a Johnston County woman came face-to-face with the fraudster.

The 71 year-old victim received an email in February that appeared to be from PayPal. The email claimed the woman’s bank account had been debited $500 for services, but she could call a phone number in the email to have the charge reversed.

The victim called the number and was told the $500 was being credited back to her account immediately. But the scammer, posing as a PayPal employee, claimed there was a problem.

The scammer said he had mistakenly refunded $50,000 into her account, not $500 and asked that she immediately return the extra $49,500 so he wouldn’t lose his job.

The kindhearted victim, drove to her bank and withdrew $49,500 in cash.

She was instructed to drive to Wilson and meet someone in a store parking lot. She handed over an envelope filled with $49,500 in cash and drove back home. Days later she reported the scam to local authorities.

The incident is under investigation by the Johnston County Sheriff’s Office.