Help. My mom made a huge mistake on FB

EddieWalker · Jan 23, 2022

My 80 year old mom knows better, but she just fell for a scammer on FB messanger. They sent her a message pretending to be a friend from church that said that the church was eligible for a large amount of money from a donation. In order to get this money, they needed everyones information, so the so called donor would know who is getting the money.

Mom didn't even hesitate. She gave them her full name, date of birth, social security number and her address. Nothing else, and two minutes after she did this, she realized that she made a huge mistake. She called her friend that she though she was responding to on FB messenger, and she had no idea what mom was talking about.

So it's 8:30 on a Sunday night. We need a plan on what to do in the morning. We will be calling the Sherriff, the bank, their Money Manager and everybody else that we can think of. Please suggest others that we should be calling.

Is there a website that helps and isn't a scam?

She is hysterical right now. Dad has Covid, he also has Dementia and Alzheimer's, so he's in and out of being helpful. Mom handles all their money, but when she panics, or gets confused, she shuts down.

Please try and avoid pointing out how this shouldn't of happened. It's done, and we will work on making sure it doesn't happen again. for now, I just need help in figuring out what to do. Hopefully suggesting something that my wife and I missed.

Thank you.

Citydude · Jan 23, 2022

Be at the bank when it opens, explain what the situation is and close her accounts. Call credit cards and close them also.

Sorry this happened Eddie.

dlctcg · Jan 23, 2022

Eddie,

Very sorry to hear this... it happens to many.

Beside the things you mentioned above make sure you put a Credit Freeze with all 3 Credit Bureaus (Equifax / Experian / TransUnion) on their accounts. It will stop unwanted credit checks & account from being opened....

Here is some info & Links

Equifax: Call 800-349-9960 or go online.

Experian: Call 888‑397‑3742 or go online.

TransUnion: Call 888-909-8872 or go online.

You can also freeze your credit report at two lesser-known credit bureaus that may have information about you:

Innovis: Call 800-540-2505 or go online.

National Consumer Telecom & Utilities Exchange: Call 866-343-2821 or go online.

Also notify all CC companies & make sure there are no easy or common (across multiple accounts) passwords used...

Hoping for the Best,
Dennis

EddieWalker · Jan 23, 2022

Thank you!!!

plowhog · Jan 23, 2022

You can call the credit card companies 24 hrs/day. The 800 number is on the back of the card. No need to wait until morning. Good luck!

marhar · Jan 23, 2022

dlctcg said:
Eddie,

Very sorry to hear this... it happens to many.

Beside the things you mentioned above make sure you put a Credit Freeze with all 3 Credit Bureaus (Equifax / Experian / TransUnion) on their accounts. It will stop unwanted credit checks & account from being opened....

Here is some info & Links

Equifax: Call 800-349-9960 or go online.

Experian: Call 888‑397‑3742 or go online.

TransUnion: Call 888-909-8872 or go online.

You can also freeze your credit report at two lesser-known credit bureaus that may have information about you:

Innovis: Call 800-540-2505 or go online.

National Consumer Telecom & Utilities Exchange: Call 866-343-2821 or go online.

Also notify all CC companies & make sure there are no easy or common (across multiple accounts) passwords used...

Hoping for the Best,
Dennis

Your advice is excellent! Please take the good advice; I had to do the same for an elderly relative.

Ken45101 · Jan 23, 2022

As mentioned above, notify the credit bureaus and lock any credit reports. And notify your local sheriff.

There is a Federal Identity Theft website and probably one at your state level (State Attorney General, probably).

Report Identity Theft Report identity (ID) theft to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) online at IdentityTheft.gov or by phone at 1-877-438-4338. The FTC will collect the details of your situation.

Identity Theft | USAGov

www.usa.gov/identity-theft

Their site has a list of recommendations. Good luck.

Ken

k0ua · Jan 23, 2022

Don't forget to call Social Security and report the scam.
And maybe close the face book account too and open another one with slightly different name.
Also wouldn't hurt to notify your state attorney general on such scams.

Good luck, and I hope there is a special place for people that scam old folks.

MinnesotaEric · Jan 23, 2022

Every ad that I've responded to on FakeBook that hasn't been a marketplace ad has been a scammer. The past two years in a row I've fallen for way-too-good-of-deals for GoPros in November while I'm dying in state-required continuing education.

Add your mom's phone number to the nations do not call registry.

Everybody else has given you good advice. Close all checking accounts that she gave routing or account numbers too. Change passwords on all things financial. Contract every financial institution and follow their advice. Put a lock on any new accounts for the next year. Wow, what a bummer.

K5lwq · Jan 23, 2022

Eddie let me know if you need anything. My wife is Mama Steph that works for KLTV. I will ask her if she knows of any of this happening to others. I am sure she will do all she can to help as well.

She said make sure to alert the local SS office as well. They can put a alert on her number.

jaxs · Jan 23, 2022

Sorry this happened to your parents and don't feel like mom is losing it. There are so many crooks working day and night to scam people,any of us can make a slip sooner or later.

plowhog · Jan 23, 2022

k0ua said:
I hope there is a special place for people that scam old folks.

Years ago my mom misplaced her wedding ring. She thought she may have lost or left it in a local restaurant. She put an ad in the local "free" paper asking if anyone had found it.

A "truck driver," who said he was 3 states away, contacted her to let her know he had found the ring. He wanted to give it back -- but -- he needed gas money of $500 to drive his big rig back to her location.

I intervened before she sent the money. And shortly thereafter she found the ring where she had put it, but forgotten ....

buckeyefarmer · Jan 23, 2022

Good advice above.

I refuse to use FB messenger app, to many fakes.

sree251 · Jan 23, 2022

K5lwq said:
Eddie let me know if you need anything. My wife is Mama Steph that works for KLTV. I will ask her if she knows of any of this happening to others. I am sure she will do all she can to help as well.

She said make sure to alert the local SS office as well. They can put a alert on her number.

What can this scammer do with the security number?

sree251 · Jan 23, 2022

plowhog said:
Years ago my mom misplaced her wedding ring. She thought she may have lost or left it in a local restaurant. She put an ad in the local "free" paper asking if anyone had found it.

A "truck driver," who said he was 3 states away, contacted her to let her know he had found the ring. He wanted to give it back -- but -- he needed gas money of $500 to drive his big rig back to her location.

I intervened before she sent the money. And shortly thereafter she found the ring where she had put it, but forgotten ....

Good scam. Did truck driver ask for cash?

MapleLeafFarmer · Jan 23, 2022

We have lived through something very similar.

First off stay strong. Most if not all of the info they asked for is likely already "out their" on the dark web for sale anyways. All will likely be OK. They are likely looking for info to sell to others not so much try and make a direct scam on you.

Do as others have suggested as soon as possible.

Best advice I can over and above is :
- do what you need to do quickly. It will take a lot of time on hold at a lot of different places. Stay strong and grind your way through it.
- change ALL your passwords using strong mixture of letters, numbers and symbols. Nothing to do with birthdays, addresses, phone numbers, etc.... as you can now assume that for today and forever that info is no longer confidential.

stay strong, grind your way through it and all should be good. Protect bank accounts first then shut down ability to get new cc's, bank transfers, etc... unless done in person and with multi layer id's.

ruffdog · Jan 23, 2022

Older people are easy prey for these scammers. Sometimes all it takes is to say "I'm from church and we are updating our records". Some people will spill the beans and tell them everything they ask......I know someone that did.

JDZ735M · Jan 23, 2022

Do this immediately, Tonight. Do not wait until tomorrow:
Also notify all CC companies & make sure there are no easy or common (across multiple accounts) passwords used...and change all passwords on email, any online accounts like Amazon, banks, etc.

bunyip · Jan 23, 2022

Can't offer any advice but if on the offchance you find it is Australian based we can find him and convey your regards, so to speak.

RjCorazza · Jan 24, 2022

All good advice, and sorry you have to deal with this. As previously mentioned, this particular scam may be the setup for other CONTINUED scams from a "susceptible person" list. Consider changing all contact information (divulged or not) like email addresses and phone number.
I suspect your mother will be a target for the foreseeable future.