Akron detectives are urging residents to be alert after two senior citizens lost tens of thousands of dollars to a frightening scam.
The seniors were first tricked online, and then the scammers took it a step further by showing up at Akron homes and stealing a total of $156,000.
Two similar theft/deception reports were filed with Akron police this month.
In an Aug. 6 report, a 75-year-old woman who lives in the Firestone Park neighborhood said she was scammed out of $70,000.
In the second report, dated Aug. 1, a 74-year-old woman from the Ellet neighborhood said she was taken for $86,000.
"It's terrible," said Detective Troy Looney. "They're preying on these victims because of fear, and panic and manipulation."
Looney said that in both cases, fake pop-ups appeared on the victims' computers, claiming their accounts were hacked. There was an investigation, and the seniors should withdraw large amounts of money to protect it.
"Essentially, they posed as Microsoft, and these scammers say, 'I work for the Federal Trade Commission or a federal entity, and we need to protect you,'" Looney explained.
The 75-year-old woman was told to "withdraw all her money from her bank account and give it to them to put it in a safe account for her."
Looney said both women took out large amounts of money and were told to wait for "a courier" to arrive at their homes.
Strangers showed up at both locations, and investigators said the trusting seniors handed over the money.
"It's completely devastating; $80,000, $70,000 — that could be everything that they've been able to save up for retirement," said Devan Weckerly Lambert from the Better Business Bureau of Akron.
Weckerly Lambert said more than 200 scams have been reported to the BBB's Scam Tracker this year, but nothing quite like what Akron police are currently investigating with these cases.
"The fact these peoples' home were essentially violated by the scammers by showing up to their door really stood out to me as unique, a very unique aspect of this," she said.
Looney feels the people who ripped off the seniors are heartless, forcing them to cope with a huge loss of money and a range of emotions.
"They're upset. They're embarrassed," he said.
The victims told police that the scammers drove away from the neighborhoods but could only provide vague descriptions of the getaway vehicles.
Looney stressed that if you suspect a scam or have become a victim of one, you should call the police right away.
Weckerly Lambert offered additional advice to prevent others from falling victim to a similar scam.
"If you're interacting with someone who says, 'I need you to pay this large sum of money upfront,' you absolutely do not want to be sending out any large number, any amount of cash in a large quantity," she said.
Akron police have referred the cases to the FBI and BCI's Cyber Task Force, hoping those agencies can help track leads. Looney said he's also working to connect with banks to find out how to help the victims get their money back.
The BBB says if you've been scammed, end the conversation, write down as much as you can remember, make a list of information provided to scammers, change passwords, call entities that scammers are impersonating, report what happened to law enforcement and the BBB, and monitor your accounts.
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