A woman from North Carolina was defrauded of over $17,000, and unfortunately, she is not the only victim. Authorities reveal that this was part of a larger scam that deceived multiple individuals across various counties in the area.
In this case, the scammers were able to print from her printer and even came to her house in person to collect the cash.
“Every morning I wake up and I’m like, ‘I just want this nightmare to go away,'” the victim told WTVD in North Carolina.
The woman, who doesn’t want her identity revealed for fear of retaliation, hopes to raise awareness and prevent others from falling prey to a similar scam by sharing her unfortunate experience.
It started when she was on her computer, trying to log into her bank account.
“I put in my password and username and got to the website, but it wouldn’t let me open my accounts,” she said.
She grabbed her cellphone and said she dialed the number saved in her phone for her bank.
He kept saying, Don’t hang up on me.
She said the representative said, “Oh, your accounts have been frozen.”
She recounted how she was informed about a suspicious charge supposedly from PayPal. Believing she was speaking to PayPal’s fraud department, she encountered poor call quality, prompting her to redial a Florida-based number.
The source of the Florida number remains unknown. Once connected, she was told there was an $82 charge and was assured a refund, provided she followed certain instructions involving downloads on her computer.
“I typed $82, and I immediately looked up to the screen and it says $18,000, and then it goes, accept, accept, accept. Just like that,” she said.
She said she was panicking and said to the man walking her through, “That’s not what I typed in, that’s a mistake.”
Unbeknownst to her, this gave the scammer remote access to her computer. Later, she noted what she believed to be a deposit of an extra $18,000 into her account. However, it was a trick; the scammer had transferred funds internally from her savings to her checking account.
She says he told her, “What you have to do to fix it is you have to get cash, go to your bank and get cash.”
Feeling uneasy about the situation, she hesitated to proceed with more instructions. Then, a document with the Bank of America logo unexpectedly printed from her computer, warning her of a “serious matter concerning your account.”
The letter stated there was “an unresolved tax issue related to a personal transaction” from PayPal. As a result, “online account transfers” are “temporarily blocked by the IRS,” the letter said.
The letter goes on to state that “we have not yet notified your local branch,” and it’s “crucial that you refrain from discussing this transaction with them.” The letter added, “doing so may lead to freezing or seizing of all funds in your account.”
Before we proceed, are you being harassed?
The woman’s caller ID shows that the call with this person lasted more than four hours.
“He kept saying, ‘Don’t hang up on me,'” the woman said.
As she continued to stay on the phone with the scammer, she drove to her bank and withdrew $17,500, as she says the man told her she could keep $500 for her troubles. At the bank, when she withdrew the cash, she says that the bank manager came over and asked her if she was being harassed. She said she replied no.
“I’m not being pressured… I didn’t know I was being scammed,” she told WTVD.
She says she even signed a document saying she was taking this money out under her own free will.
After getting the money, she continued to follow the caller’s instructions. She drove home and printed another letter from her printer – this one thanking her for returning the funds to PayPal and that a “Mr. Jack” was assigned to collect the cash.
Not long after, her doorbell camera catches a man coming to her door to pick up the cash. She handed over the cash, thinking the ordeal was over and called her daughters to tell them about her long day.
She says before she could get the story out of her mouth, her daughter said, “Mom, you’ve been scammed.”
She did call the police to report the scam, and at first, she thought she was the only victim until she saw the mugshot of a man, Linghui Zheng. She says it’s the same guy who came to her door to collect her $17,500.
Zheng is charged with obtaining property under false pretenses in her case. Zheng, along with another suspect, are also facing charges of obtaining property under false pretenses, accessing computers and felony conspiracy in the North Carolina counties of Person, Durham and Granville.
The sheriff says they’re currently working with the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Homeland Security to identify more victims and suspects. While the total amount of money scammed is unknown at this time, he says it’s close to $400,000.
“It never occurred to me that there was going to be an evil person come into my life,” the woman said.
The financial loss is devastating as a large chunk of the money gone is money she says is from an insurance policy to pay her medical bills when she fought cancer last year.
She adds that she wants people to not let their guard down to avoid getting scammed.
Despite catching the suspect, the woman says investigators told her that it does not appear she will get her money back, as much of it was gone by the time the suspects were arrested.
The suspects are still behind bars at the Person County Detention Center, and investigators say the Department of Homeland Security has detainers in place.
When it comes to the victim’s bank, Bank of America, a representative told WTVD that they are investigating the case and are unable to comment until their investigation is complete.
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