Man loses $35,000 in government imposter scam
LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. —
A Pennsylvania man lost $35,000 in an elaborate government imposter scam involving fake Federal Trade Commission officials, remote computer access, and in-person cash exchanges.
A fake charge sparks the scam
It began with a text message informing Kevin Eberle that he had been charged $340 for a computer protection plan.
“And then there was a phone number at the bottom that said, if you did not make this order, call this number,” Eberle said.
When Eberle called the number, the person who answered claimed they could reverse the charges. They then alleged they had found other fraudulent charges on his account.
Scammers impersonate an FTC commissioner
“And he said, I’m going to give you a phone number, a case number, and I want you to call the number. And here it was, the head of the FTC,” Eberle said.
Eberle called the second number and spoke to a man who claimed to be Mark Meador, a commissioner with the Federal Trade Commission.
“And then he said, ‘Oh.’ He said, ‘There are some fraudulent charges here.’ He said they actually involve money laundering,” Eberle said.
Remote-access software exposes bank accounts
Eberle was told that three properties had been rented in his name in Texas. During the process, he was instructed to download AnyDesk, a computer software program that allows remote access to a computer.
Once the software was installed, the scammer accessed Eberle’s bank accounts and saw his financial details.
“Well, he brought up my account and said we’re going to have to move money around and we’re going to have to pull it out,” Eberle said. “He said, because if they have access to your bank account, he said that money could be fraud money.”
$20,000 handed to a courier
Eberle was instructed to withdraw his money for safekeeping and hand the cash to a courier in the parking lot of a nearby Walmart. He was sent a picture of a dollar bill that the courier would use to verify their identity, along with a password for the exchange.
After handing over $20,000 in cash, Eberle received a picture of a check claiming to represent his money, but the check was dated for the year 2020 and was clearly artificial intelligence-generated.
Fake FTC letter leads to another withdrawal
Eberle also received a letter claiming to be from the Federal Trade Commission, stating that his name and financial identity were under investigation.
He was then told to withdraw the remaining $15,000 in his accounts and meet another courier in the parking lot of a convenience store, which he did.
In total, Eberle lost $35,000 to the scam.
Victim urges others to double-check
“If you’re not sure, question, get a friend. Ask somebody you know. Double-check,” Eberle said.
Consumer investigator Brian Roche described the scam as one of the most elaborate he has ever seen, involving impersonation of an FTC commissioner, passwords, fake letters, fake checks, and two in-person cash exchanges.
Police investigate the cash exchanges
The case is being investigated by police, and both locations where the money was exchanged had surveillance cameras. However, it is unclear whether police have retrieved usable images of the couriers involved.
Roche emphasized the key takeaway for everyone: If you’re being told to move your money to protect it, that’s a scam.
