SAN ANTONIO – A phone call last month rang up hope for Adonia Santos. But what turned out to be a scam nearly cost her her home.
"If you're in a desperate situation, they were more than convincing," she said.
Santos is a single mom of four. Her husband was killed while serving in Iraq.
"It's been pretty rough because I lost my husband, and we've had a very hard time," she said, choking back tears.
Vulnerable and desperate, she was eager to hear what the caller had to say -- that she had been selected to receive a tax-free government grant for $9,000.
"I was thinking, 'Oh, my God, it's coming from the government, president-approved,'" she said. "It couldn't come at a better time."
Santos said the call appeared to come from Washington, and the spiel sounded official and convincing. So she followed instructions and called what she thought was the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
The alleged account manager was to deposit the $9,000 into Santos' account, but first she would need to pay what she was told would be "refundable" processing fees.
She provided her debit card information, but they wanted something more: gift cards.
Following instructions, Santos said she drove from store to store buying iTunes gift cards, staying on the phone with the fraudster and giving him the codes off the backs of the cards.
In total, she paid $2,600.
"And that ended up costing me a lot of grief," she said.
Her troubles weren't over. When she contacted her bank, USAA, they put a security freeze on her account.
But not only could the fraudsters not access her account, Santos said she couldn't either.
"My rent's not being paid. My car is not being paid," she said. "I can't buy food and provide for my kids."
Next, she was served with notice that she and her family were about to be evicted.
When KSAT 12 News contacted USAA about Santos' situation, the bank promptly contacted the widow and guided her on how to access her money so she could pay her rent and avoid eviction.
"Members can be responsible for lost funds when they participate in or fall victim to scams," USAA's Dana Martinez said in a written statement. "Accounts may be temporarily frozen to prevent additional fraudulent activity and minimize the further financial risk for our members and the association. It also allows us an opportunity to investigate and determine what has happened and how we can best help our member."
USAA added it is a common industry practice.
The government-grant scam is hardly new, but it is claiming new victims.
The Better Business Bureau's Miguel Segura said they have heard from dozens of area victims within the past year.
"We did see an average loss of $738 every phone call that was made," he said. "The top method of contact is a phone call, and the top method of payment is prepaid debit card."
He warns consumers to not trust beware offers of free money.
"Whether from the government or any other foundation, grants aren't given out at random," he said.
USAA also offered tips to avoid similar scams:
Scam red flags:
- Be wary of offers of free money. If it’s too good to be true, it probably is.
- Never provide personal information, especially on social media.
- Never share your bank login credentials or PIN for your debit or credit card to anyone.
- Be cautious when asked to send money back. Fraudsters use a variety of tactics, such as winning a prize, and will often deposit funds directly into your account and request a portion to be returned as administrative fees. The method to return the funds is usually hard to trace, such as money orders or gift cards.
- Respond to security and fraud alerts, and contact your financial institution immediately if you participate in any suspicious activity.
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