Its truly upsetting how these scammers operate without any sense of morality, even targeting individuals dealing with serious health challenges.
But before we proceed, let's define first what is a Parkinson's disease...
Parkinson's disease is a movement disorder of the nervous system that worsens over time. The nervous system is a network of nerve cells that controls many parts of the body, including movement.
So there it is, and it might get worse over time, especially since the victim is already 77 years old. Based on reports, elderly people are particularly vulnerable, theyre not tech-savvy and are often looking for opportunities to invest and grow their money. Others are scammed by people pretending to be authorities offering to protect their funds, which is exactly what happened in this case.
Heres the full story...
https://nypost.com/2024/11/13/us-news/oklahoma-woman-with-parkinsons-disease-duped-out-of-20000-in-bitcoin-scam/An elderly Oklahoma woman stricken with Parkinsons Disease lost $20,000 in a cryptocurrency ploy that was crafted as a scam within a scam, according to her daughter.
Jamie Moore, the daughter of 77-year-old scam victim Marsha, knew that a swindler had tried to reach out to her mother when she received an odd email about a Bitcoin transaction being finalized.
I received a text from my mom that said, Jamie, I think Im being scammed and I said, Dont fall for it, I get those emails all the time, Moore told KFOR.
It was supposed to be smooth sailing from there since the duo had recognized the fraud.
Then Marsha, who has Parkinsons and Multiple Myeloma, reached out to the number listed in the phony email, looking for some clarity.
She told the person on the other end that she had never made a Bitcoin purchase.
The scammer, pretending to be a federal agent, told Marsha that her identity had been stolen and that she needed to make a withdrawal from her bank account to protect her money. He also told her to keep the situation a secret, including her daughter.
She was on the phone for probably five hours, he stayed on the phone with her, Jamie said.
Marsha followed the grifters instructions and made her way to the bank, where she even lied to the teller in order to justify the hefty $20,000 withdrawal.
She had been coached by this FBI guy not to trust anybody and told the teller that she was having her house remodeled and she needed $20,000 wiped out her entire savings account, Jamie said.
From there, the scammer told her to go to a liquor store 45 minutes away in Ponca City, Okla. to deposit her savings into a Bitcoin ATM.
It wasnt until Marsha had completed the transaction that she realized she had been duped.
I never thought it would happen to us and shes humiliated, shes embarrassed, shes doubting her choices and shes a smart woman, shes bright and so its heartbreaking, Jamie said.
The family filed a police report, but there is little hope that Marsha will get her savings back.
