Lake Co. Resident Nearly Loses $20K In PayPal Scam

LAKE COUNTY, IL — The Lake County Sheriff’s Office is warning residents to be cautious following a scam involving a person who claimed they worked for PayPal and almost stole $20,000 from a local resident.

Authorities say the scam works like this: An individual gets an email, text message or phone call that indicates an account, which could be a bank account, PayPal account or other mobile money account, has been used to make a purchase. The caller tells the account user that if the purchase was not authorized, they should call a phone number, according to the sheriff’s office.

“The scammer hopes you don’t verify the transaction with your banking institution first and you call them instead. The scammer then engages you in additional dialogue and assures you they will help you fix your ‘hacked’ computer and get a refund,” according to the sheriff’s office post.

“The scammer will distract you by presenting a form on your computer to type your refund amount into. Meanwhile, the scammer is accessing your bank accounts,” according to the sheriff’s office. From there the scammer will typically do the following:

While logged into various accounts, the scammer transfers money from one of your accounts to another account, usually a significant amount. The scammer then tells you to type your refund amount into their fake form, they manipulate the amount you type, and then accuse you of inputting the wrong amount. They tell you to open your checking account to see if your balance reflects the wrong refund, which it will, because they’ve already transferred that money from one of your other accounts. In some situations, the scammer simply manipulates the website code to display a higher bank account balance than the victim actually has. The scammer then accuses you of stealing money from them and plays on your emotions to make you think they will be fired and their children will suffer because of your typing “mistake.”The scammer then convinces you to repay the money by utilizing a Crypto Currency ATM, or withdrawing cash to mail them, according to the sheriff’s office.

During the recent scam where a Lake County resident was targeted, local authorities were able to help the victim retrieve the $20,000, but most times by the time the account user notifies police, it’s too late to recover the money.

Following this scam, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office is reminding residents to follow these tips to avoid becoming the victim of a scam:

• Never trust an unsolicited telephone call, text message or email
• If you receive any notifications of any of your accounts being compromised, find a phone number on your bank card, bank statements or in a phone book for your institution and call to verify
• Do not assume the phone number contained in the message you receive to be legitimate.
• Always be suspicious of links in emails, if you have the slightest doubt, do NOT click the link. Contact the sender to verify the authenticity.
• Do not ever allow someone to direct you to install anything on your computer, unless it’s a computer professional or organization that you trust, and only if you have initiated the conversation.
• Do not wait to make a police report, particularly if you have shipped cash.
• Scammers are good at what they do, they prey on people’s emotions and vulnerabilities, especially those who are not proficient utilizing the internet.