Plano great-grandfather shares how phishing scheme wiped out his checking, savings accounts

A detective with the Plano Police Department’s Forgery and Fraud Unit says they receive weekly reports of people falling victim to a sophisticated phishing scheme.

There is increased concern because criminals targeting people in Plano and other Texas cities have even convinced some victims to meet in person, according to police.

Others are utilizing unsuspecting courier services to carry out their crimes.

An elderly Plano resident has agreed to share his story in hopes of helping others avoid making his mistake.

“Right now, the only thing I can do is thank the Lord for what I have and I’m thankful for my wife and our life together,” said the victim identified in this story as ‘Bob.’ “I feel content if I can help somebody to not get involved like I did.”

Bob says with one innocent click of the mouse his financial well-being was upended a few months ago.

The longtime Plano resident’s checking and savings accounts totaling over $35,000 had been wiped out in a sophisticated phishing scam, according to Plano police.

“In retrospect it makes you feel foolish,” he said. “I feel like I’ve been taken.”

Bob and his wife have spent months rebuilding their finances.

He has reached out to the FCC and to the company he thought he was communicating with, hoping to see any of his checking or savings reimbursed.

It appears that will not happen.

Adding insult to injury, Bob will likely not get his money back because he is considered a “willing participant” after opting to click on the link that turned out to be a scam.

“It’s gone, gone, gone,” he said.

The husband, father, grandfather, even great-grandfather says his wife, a Christian counselor, has inspired him to get through the ordeal and to speak out in hopes of helping others who may not be as fortunate.

“I’ve been able to sustain myself,” he said. “That’s all we can just say: Thank you Lord that we have each other and we have what we have and we haven’t missed a meal, so we’re fine.”

HOW BOB FELL VICTIM:

It started innocently enough by checking his email as he does daily.

A legitimate-looking email was from a service company Bob actively uses.

It stated the annual fee had been deducted from his checking account.

“I don’t remember the year going by that fast, so I decided to see if it was really taken out and I opened another window in the computer and I went to the financial institution, opened my checking and sure enough there was a deduction for that certain amount of money,” he said.

He decided to call the number provided in the email and spoke with a man who acknowledged the fee had been deducted by mistake.

“I said: Well, just credit my account. He said we don’t do that anymore,” he said. “’We have another way of doing it which is quicker, easier for you and you’ll get your money sooner. We’re going to send you a link and you click on the link, and we’ll go from there and I’ll walk you through it.’”

Bob now sees where he fell for the scheme.

“Once you’ve started working with these people, they just suck you into it,” he said.

He clicked on the link provided in the fraudulent email. The convincing webpage included his personal information, so Bob followed the man’s instructions and responded by filling out the amount that was due back on his account.

In that moment, the criminal had succeeded.

“Once you click on that link, it will compromise your own home computer. That gives the suspects access to your computer,” said Det. Jerry Minton of Plano PD’s forgery and fraud unit. “You’re basically granting them off-site access to your computer so they can see every single file that he has on his computer whether it’s open or not.”

Minton says it’s still unclear how the criminal enterprise was able to hack Bob’s email account, but personal information is readily available for purchase on the ‘dark web.’

Minton explains, that once thieves are able to compromise a bank account, they often search through the potential victim’s inbox or trash in search of companies they are or have been associated with to then create a counterfeit website.

There have been no arrests in the case, but the investigation is open and active.

CONVINCING EMAIL SCAM AND WHAT TO LOOK FOR:

“They look legitimate. They will copy and paste legitimate logos from businesses or create their own,” said Minton.

Schemers will ‘spoof’ legitimate companies, but there are things to look for to avoid falling victim, he said.

A closer look at the sender’s email domain will often show ‘@gmail or @hotmail’ accounts, instead of ‘.com, .net, .gov.’

Emails or links often include misspellings and other discrepancies.

Right-clicking on logos can sometimes reveal fraudulent origins, said Minton.

Above all, Minton urges everyone with online banking and billing accounts to be highly suspicious.

“If you get an unsuspecting email, even from a business that you do business with, be cautious with it because these guys are good,” said the veteran investigator. “This is their 9-5 job. They have their own training classes.”

This kind of fraudulent activity is being carried out by criminals here at home and abroad, he says.

The department has reached out to other countries in search of criminal rings, but sometimes encounters an unwillingness to cooperate.

Police urge the public to not call phone numbers listed in emails.

Instead, have company contact information stored on your phone or on paper.

Another option could be to do a simple ‘Google’ search, but even that should be done carefully as counterfeit websites may be present near the top of the search results.

You can call your local bank branch and ask for the corporate phone number, said Minton.

UNSUSPECTING COURIER SERVICES AND IN-PERSON MEETINGS:

There is heightened concern, Minton says, because there have been cases in Plano where victims have been pressured into meeting strangers in person in order to provide a payment.

“If there is a meeting between the victim and the suspects, a lot of these suspects are transients,” said Minton. “They don’t stay in one place for very long.”

Police have also discovered legitimate courier services have been used in such schemes.

“No business is going to send a courier to pick up cash,” stresses Minton. “No businesses are going to want to meet you somewhere to pick up cash.”

MORE INFORMATION:

Minton encourages anyone unsure of an email's legitimacy to contact your local police department.

Click here for Plano PD's Fraud and Forgery Unit.

For more information and tips, from the Federal Communications Commission, click here.

The Federal Trade Commission provides ways to receive less spam in your email, here.

The Texas Attorney General's Office provides information on how to spot and report internet and email scams, here.