ISSAQUAH, Wash. — On Monday morning, an elderly woman reported to Issaquah police that she had gotten a text message claiming her personal and financial information had been compromised-- and she had very nearly fallen victim to a scam that would’ve made the text true.
The woman said the message included a phone number for “urgent account security.”
Believing the message was legitimate, she contacted the number and was informed that her identity and Social Security number had been stolen.
The scammer told the woman to transfer half the funds in her bank account, which totaled nearly $94,000, to a government-secured holding company for “safekeeping.”
She was also contacted by someone posing as a federal investigator from the Social Security Administration’s Criminal Investigation Department, who provided a fake badge and photo to make the scam more real.
The victim got a cashier’s check and was prepared to mail it to the New York address.
A friend noticed the address was suspicious and urged her to contact her bank. The bank confirmed the transaction was still pending and placed the funds on a seven-day hold.
As of now, no money has been lost.
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