Michigan Woman Gave Over $300k to a Scammer Involving Amazon's Fraud Department

A Michigan woman gave over $300k to a scammer claiming to be from Amazon's Fraud Department. Two months after the scam started, she finally told her husband and now they may never recover her money.

Photo by Giorgio Trovato on Unsplash

A woman from Troy, Michigan handed over $300,000 to a scammer, and in the "blink of an eye," it was gone before realizing her grave mistake. Then she had to tell her husband what she did.

Michigan Woman Gave the Scammer $300,000

FOX 2 News reported about a woman from Troy, Michigan who fell for a common scam from someone claiming to be from Amazon's fraud department.

First, she was contacted by a scammer in June 2023, claiming to be an Amazon employee, working for their fraud department, and he accused her of drug trafficking.

This should have been the first red flag, as Amazon would logically never be involved with something like this.

The scammer encouraged the woman to contact the Social Security Administration, because "she may be a victim of fraud."

A second scammer contacted her, claiming she was under investigation for "drug trafficking and fraud."

Next, the scammer told her not to contact anyone about her case. This is common in scams involving the transfer of money, and oftentimes the scammer will say there is a "gag order" preventing the victim from telling anyone. This is all part of the scam.

The scammer told her that he "could protect her from legal action" if she sent him "any money she had over $5,000." The scammers talked her through buying pre-paid gift cards and she sent photos of the gift card numbers.

The scammer asked for an accounting of her financial assets and for her driver's license, and she provided a photo.

When the scammer found out she had over $300k in gold and silver, the scammer told her how to turn these assets over to them, to "protect them from seizure."

The communication from the scammers ended on 28 August 2023. The phone number she had been communicating with had been disconnected. This is when she realized she had been scammed and then decided to tell her husband.

They went to the authorities to report the scam, but the damage had been done and their money was gone.

How to Prevent Scams

In modern times, it is important to know how to prevent being scammed.

YouMail - a company that monitors robocalls - reported in 2021 that "Americans receive between 100 to 150 million robocalls per month claiming to be with Amazon." (Source: Cincinnati Enquirer)

Tips to Prevent Getting Scammed:

• First, if you are ever accused of a crime, you need to tell your family and quickly get a lawyer involved. If she had told her family and a lawyer, she probably would have found out about the scam.
• Next, if a person from Amazon calls you, it is probably a scam. Amazon rarely calls a person unless you have first requested them to call you (such as you are trying to get in touch with customer service). They may offer to call you back so you don't have to wait on hold or if you prompt them to call you on their website. Amazon will not call a customer "out of the blue" without being first directed to. If you receive a random phone call from Amazon, find a reason to end that call and then call Amazon Customer Service back directly and inquire if they need to contact you.
• Never give out personal information, such as copies of your driver's license and personal financial information to someone who asks you. Again, if you have a lawyer involved, give this information only to your trusted legal representative.
• Lastly, no government agency, nor law enforcement would ever ask you for payment at the beginning or during an open investigation.
• Ask the family to take a look at any emails or texts from Amazon that seem out of the ordinary. Never click on links in texts or emails unless you trust it is legitimate.

Amazon states on its website: "We take fraud, scam, phishing and spoofing attempts seriously. If you receive correspondence you think may not be from Amazon, please report it immediately."

If you have received a "suspicious" phone call, email, or SMS/text message, this can be reported to Amazon on this webpage.

Thoughts

Questions for the reader:

• Have you ever been contacted in an email or by phone by someone claiming to be from Amazon? What did you do?
• Do you know anyone who has been scammed?

The purpose of this article is to keep you and your loved ones protected from ongoing scams.

Please share this article with family and friends so they can stay up-to-date on the latest scams.

Sources

Amazon "Report Something Suspicious" webpage. Date accessed: 9 September 2023.

Brookbank, Sarah. "Got a call from Amazon about fraud on your account? It could be a scam. Here's how to tell." Cincinnati Enquirer. 28 May 2021.

FOX 2 Staff. "Amazon scam: Troy woman scammed out of $300K in 2 months." FOX 2 News. 6 September 2023.

Real Life Grand Theft Auto: After a Postal Worker in Ohio is Robbed, a Crime Ring is Uncovered in Detroit

After a U.S. Postal Service (USPS) postal worker is robbed for his mailbox key, authorities find much more than just stolen mail. They find stolen cars and a crime ring in Detroit, Michigan.

A Dodge Challenger; Photo by Haidong Liang on Unsplash

Some criminals have a need for speed and get their 5 seconds of fame burning rubber before it all comes to a screeching halt over a spike strip.

Yahoo! News published a story reported by the Associated Press (AP) that all started when investigators started looking into careless thieves in the Ohio area that have a penchant for stolen cars.

Police Investigate into a Robbery and Find Much More

Police stopped Devin Rice on 31 January 2022, on suspicion of robbing a U.S. postal worker in Shaker Heights, OH for his mailbox key. They searched Rice’s car and found stolen credit and debit cards, fake checks, stolen mail, and stolen vehicles — a Dodge with a Hellcat engine, a Ram pickup truck, and a Range Rover. (Source: Yahoo!/AP)

Along with Devin Rice, Hakim Benjamin, Jaylen Harris, and Lavelle Jones were also charged with conspiracy and interstate transport of stolen vehicles, after being indicted in federal court in June 2022. All except Benjamin are also charged with mail theft and are expected to face trial in 2023. (Source: Yahoo!/AP)

After being caught, Jaylen Harris told the FBI that he and Lavelle Jones were contacting a crime ring in Detroit to get stolen vehicles and that these auto thieves “were selling to buyers in other areas, including Chicago and Indianapolis.” (Source: Yahoo!/AP)

In February 2022, Hakim Benjamin was driving a 2022 Dodge Challenger at 120 mph on Ohio State Route 2 until spike strips were laid down to stop him. Other cars with Hellcat engines have also been spotted traveling on Ohio State Route 2 at 140–150 mph that have eluded police. (Source: Yahoo!/AP)

AP spoke to Sgt. Jerry Hanna with the Macomb Auto Theft Squad.

He said:

“Thieves in the Detroit area are primarily going after Dodge vehicles with Hellcat engines, including Chargers and Challengers — ‘the fast ones.’…In the Detroit area they are selling them for like $3,500. Once they get that money in their pockets they go out and steal another one.” -Sgt. Jerry Hanna, Macomb Auto Theft Squad (Source: Yahoo!/AP)

Investigators are finding new Chargers, Challengers, and Ram pickups ending up in places like Indianapolis, Ohio, and along the East Coast at shipping ports. These stolen cars are being sold on the streets at prices between $3,500 to $15,000 USD. (Source: Yahoo!/AP)

Cars Stolen from Detroit Dealership Include Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat

One example of auto theft took place in a dealership showroom northwest of Detroit, Michigan. A thief drove a Ram pickup truck straight through the showroom’s glass wall.

General manager Jeff Schneider of Szott Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram in Highland Township said,

“I think they were able to find some keys in a desk drawer and used them.” -Jeff Schneider, General manager of Szott Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram (Source: Yahoo!/AP)

Authorities tracked one of the stolen cars to a suburb northwest of Detroit after they crashed a $100,000 Durango SRT Hellcat into a brick wall. Police were able to recover other vehicles from the auto theft: a 2017 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat, a 2021 Dodge Ram TRX, and a 2021 Dodge Durango GT.

Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat; Photo by Yahya S.,CC BY 2.0

Thieves Using Handheld ‘Pro Pads’ Can Clone Key Fobs

Some thieves are using more expensive technology, such as handheld electronic ‘pro pads,’ like what a professional locksmith could use to clone a key fob by plugging it into an internal port of a vehicle. (Source: Yahoo!/AP)

CBS 12 News reported that new truck owner Danielle Danboise parked her $75K "fully loaded" Ford Platinum diesel truck in her Port St. Lucie, Florida driveway and thieves stole it quietly without breaking glass or the alarm going off.

When she called the police to report it stolen, they informed her she wasn’t the only one that day. She was the 12th call of auto theft.

She recalled to CBS 12 News:

“Literally said you’re the 12th phone call since this morning and it’s 1 o’clock in the afternoon I’m like what? It’s insane.” -Danielle Danboise, victim of truck theft. (Source: CBS 12 News)

Port. St. Lucie Assistant Police Chief Richard Del Toro spoke with CBS12 News about the speed and sophistication of these auto thieves.

He said:

“Like I said, these are professional groups coming up here. It’s not their first rodeo. Like I said, they’re using sophisticated equipment…It’s impossible to say how each truck was taken unless it’s later found. But when police busted two Miami area men last year, they found key fobs and a tablet-looking device…We caught a couple of people that happened to have this type of technology on them and that’s why really alerted us to what was going on." -Richard Del Toro, Port. St. Lucie Assistant Police Chief (Source: CBS 12 News)

"They use the software on the tablet device to plug in underneath the dashboard, which downloads all the vehicle information and then able to program these key fobs and basically clone them.” -Richard Del Toro, Port. St. Lucie Assistant Police Chief (Source: CBS 12 News)

Sounds like technology is becoming the enemy, and criminals are embracing it.

What Will Auto Dealers do to Prevent Thefts?

What are auto dealers doing to try and slow these thefts?

In the meantime, some car dealerships have resorted to using low-tech methods of preventing auto theft of their expensive cars, such as steering wheel locks and parking boots.

In this world of technology, "low tech" is now becoming the best theft deterrent for criminals engaged in real-life Grand Theft Auto.

Sources

Loftholm, Andrew. “Gone in 60 seconds: how car thieves are cloning key fobs to steal in silence.” CBS 12 News. 24 February 2022.

Williams, Corey. “Postal worker holdup leads to muscle car theft ring arrests.” Yahoo!/AP. 16 October 2022.