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While anyone can be vulnerable to financial scams , the data does not lie: elderly Americans are the biggest targets. In 2022, more than 80,000 adults over 60 were victims of financial fraud, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) 2022 Elder fraud report . The victims lost a total of $ 3.1 billion, an increase of 84% compared to 2021.

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Wells Fargo's online security center warns that Most common types of fraud Among the elderly. But the Southern California Resident and Wells Fargo Client Judith Anderson Warn others of another scames which made it lose nearly $ 150,000 in less than an hour.

In the days preceding Christmas, Anderson received an appeal entering a Usurpé number under the cover of the fraud division of Wells Fargo. The crook told her that a person in Texas had compromised his account and that he was in danger of losing their money if they did not act quickly.

"They said there were someone who was billing several accusations in Texas, and I said:" It's not me "," recalls Anderson in an interview with NBC 7 . "He said," We must prevent this person from doing so, and to do it, we will make you wire money. ""

The bad actor instilled fear in Anderson, as well as a feeling of emergency, a common tactic of the crooks. Against her best judgment, she followed their instructions.

Anderson was trained to change his password. Meanwhile, the crook added digital wire services to his account. They also led him to transmit any incoming call to prevent a possible interruption of their telephone call.

As she said to NBC 7, she was then responsible for cable $ 49,000 to a recipe account that he had given the name "Judith Anderson". Anderson did not realize that his name was used as a nickname for an account which was in fact under the name of Wendell Henry.

"My name was there," said Anderson, noting that she had never seen "Wendell Henry" linked to the recipe account. "I clicked on the name of Judith Anderson, and I sent the thread, and there was another."

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After the initial transfer, Anderson said she was invited to wire an additional $ 49,000, then additional $ 49,000. At each transfer, Anderson was forced to act faster to protect his account.

"He kept saying to me:" OK, you have a minute left, a minute to do it "", remembers Anderson at NBC 7.

Behind the scenes, the crook had set up a second account receipt with the name of Angel Rivera, where Anderson's third transfer of money was filed. In the middle of sending the fourth transfer, Anderson developed a bad feeling in his intestine. Souppeds, she hung up and called her daughter for help.

"I called Tracy and said," I'm afraid "," she said.

By responding to his mother's phone call, Tracy Martinez said that she knew her mother had been financially enjoyed.

"'You have scammed yourself; I am on their way," said Martinez to his frightened mom. "I said:" You hang up at the moment and call Wells Fargo directly. ""

Anderson came into contact with a representative of Wells Fargo, who was able to put an end to the fourth transfer. Addressing NBC 7, Martinez said that the bank should have informed her mother of "abnormal behavior" occurring in her account after the first transfer.

"After the first, you know, wouldn't there be something internally," it doesn't look good "?" Said Martinez. "She is tilted 52 years old and it is abnormal behavior."

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While Anderson was able to take possession of the fourth transfer of $ 49,000, it was still at nearly $ 150,000. Martinez immediately took measures, making noise on social networks and alerting local news stations in the situation.

She also contacted someone Wells Fargo, who rejected her claims despite the calendar of events that Martinez shared. When NBC 7 contacted Wells Fargo to comment on, the bank shared a general declaration on scams as "a concern on the industry level" and noted that it was important to "raise awareness among common scams".

Following the publication of the history of NBC 7, Martinez was informed that Wells Fargo had "decided to overthrow the decision" and were able to recover the $ 147,000 from Anderson.

"My son and my daughter, we went on FaceTime and they said:" You have your money "and I was simply overwhelmed," said Anderson in an update with NBC 7 . AE0FCC31AE342FD3A1346EBB1F342FCB

Meanwhile, NBC 7 received the following declaration from Wells Fargo on Anderson's affair: "We are delighted that we were able to resolve this problem for our client. Although we cannot provide details on this case for Reasons for confidentiality and confidentiality, we can share that we have carried out an in -depth examination and completed our survey after receiving additional information. "

In the end, the bank did not explain why they had decided to reverse their decision, but the attention that Anderson and his daughter attracted in his case probably helped, as well as the in -depth calendar they provided . In any case, Anderson said that Wells Fargo's decision was a huge weight on his shoulders.

"I was so grateful to all prayers and all the goods, so that you put it there, and I hope to protect someone else from going through it," she said at NBC 7.