AN elderly couple has devastatingly lost a whopping $1.46 million in a six-month scam after a fraudster pretended to be a bank worker and a US Marshall banned them from speaking to their family.

Lana Browne, 82, and her husband Ed, 91, were told by scammers that their bank accounts had been targeted by international cyber criminals from China, Russia, and Bolivia.

In May 2023, Lana was contacted by who she thought was Wells Fargo and was informed that their account had been attacked, the couple exclusively told the Daily Mail.

Their account had allegedly been involved in money laundering, pornography, and illegal and disputed transactions.

The scammer told the elderly woman that the case was being investigated and transferred her to someone claiming to be a US Marshal.

After being given an official-looking ID and finding his LinkedIn profile with an Amazon book written by him, Lana decided he was being truthful with his identity.

The supposed US Marshal told the couple that they were being placed in a witness protection program.

Their money would also be placed in a Federal Reserve Bank account set up for them to keep it safe during the investigation.

The scammers threatened to take them to court and jail if they spoke to anyone about the crime, including the six children and 14 grandchildren they had between them.

“I had to lie to everybody, including the bank and my family,” Lana told the Daily Mail.

“My daughter was so concerned. She rang my best friend to find out what was going on but of course, I couldn’t say anything.”

By the end of May, the scammer had Lana withdraw most of her savings from the bank and transfer it into Bitcoin.

He also told her to drain her investment accounts and have the money exchanged into gold to be stored in the guarded Federal Reserve account.

Lana followed all of his directions.

Whenever she left her home, Lana was told to keep in contact with the Marshal.

The scammer appeared to be tracking her as well saying things like “You aren’t home yet” when she was in her car, according to the outlet.

Wells Fargo repeatedly contacted Lana to make sure she wasn’t being scammed after the massive transactions, but she thought the cybercriminals were listening to her calls with the bank.

The scammers were able to take $1,466,422 from the couple.

By October 2023, after she had lost contact with the US Marshal, she awoke one night realizing she had been scammed all along.

The couple has contacted the National Elder Fraud Hotline and are now working with the real Homeland Security who have made one arrest in connection to the crime.

The money stolen from them was saved for possible hospice care for Ed, who is suffering from tongue cancer.

Without their savings, they are not relying on Social Security payments and Ed’s small pension.

“Our main concern is because of our age. If something happens and I can’t take care of Ed anymore, I needed the money to towards his assistance or whatever needs he would have,” Lana expressed to the outlet.

Top tips on avoiding scams:

As scams become more sophisitcated with the use of artificial intelligence, it is important you know how to spot a scam and how to avoid them.

• Be skeptical of online deals that seem too good to be true, especially on social media.
• Scammers will often use tactics to make you panicked so you make quick decisions – be cautious if you are told to take immediate action and verify who has contacted you.
• Chase Bank warns customers to “never return any unexpected funds without calling Chase first.”
• Never send money to someone you have only spoken to online or by phone as this is likely a romance scam.
• Unless you 100% know who you are talking to, never give someone remote access to your device.
• Never accept help from strangers at an ATM and always be vigilant when making withdrawals.
• Do not send money or click any links indicating that you have won a prize.

Source: Chase.com

From March 2020 to April 2023, the National Elder Fraud Hotline received 37,047 calls and assisted with or filed 4,440 complaint forms, according to its website.

In 2022, there were 88,262 complaints of fraud from people ages 60 and over resulting in $3.1 billion in losses., according to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, reported by the National Council on Aging.

If you have fallen victim to a scam and want to share your story, please contact exclusive@the-sun.com.

The U.S. Sun has reached out to Wells Fargo for comment.