Danville grandmother loses life savings to scam; FBI investigates

DANVILLE, Ky. (FOX 56) — A Kentucky family is railing after a 74-year-old grandmother was scammed out of her life savings.

“This is something our family never imagined happening and was impossible to be prepared for,” the grandson, Stephen Warner, wrote on GoFundMe.

Stephen, 34, told FOX 56 that his grandmother Barbara Warner recently sold the home she and her husband had worked their entire lives to pay off so she could move closer to town, just to have a scammer reach out and threaten her with a “Social Security Administration” investigation.

Warner said the scammer was well informed and prepared, knowing that Barbara had just sold her home and that she was previously a victim of identity theft.

When the man reached out to Barbara, he included steps to “verify” he was an actual employee; according to the family, he was using a real employee’s info, sharing their LinkedIn profile and government website to build trust.

She fell victim to the scam, signing a fake nondisclosure agreement to silence her and then convincing her to transfer her savings and the money from her home sale to “the court” via gold coins.

The scammer told Barbara that once her money was converted into gold, it would be kept safe in a lockbox until the “investigation” was over.

Barbara converted nearly $180,000 into gold on Feb. 5 in Lexington and met a man at a bank parking lot on Feb. 13 in Lexington.

After the transaction, the person disconnected the phone and stopped talking to her. She took photos of several vehicles in the parking lot, which Stephen later found on her phone.

About a week later, once she realized she had been scammed, the grandmother of 2 and great-grandmother of 4 opened up to her family. The family worked out the details and began looking at how to get justice.

Stephen said the Boyle County Sheriff’s Office told them to file a complaint with the attorney general’s office, but they were told the AG’s office only tracks and doesn’t investigate fraud.

The events and stress pushed the grandmother into crisis, and she ended up in ICU, where she still is. Stephen said she was in a coma for about two weeks, but they have now taken out her feeding tube, and she is awake.

Hope isn’t lost though; someone at Barbara’s bank happened to know someone at the FBI who was able to get her case taken on.

“Although we are hopeful someone will be caught, we know the money from her home and life savings is gone forever,” the grandson wrote on GoFundMe.

While the FBI investigates and Barbara recovers, the family is working to raise enough money to figure out a living situation and cover any more medical care she might need.

“We appreciate anyone who is able to donate and especially appreciate everyone that is willing to say a prayer. We hope that at the least this will help other elderly in our community from falling for this,” the grandson wrote.

Donations to support Barbara can be made on GoFundMe.

Protecting yourself from scammers

Signs you may be speaking with a scammer:

Richmond police said there are common signs someone might be trying to pull a scam.

• Caller ID is unknown or not local
• The scammer is posing as a local authority or government official
• The scammer wants to “verify” personal information like social security numbers, birthdates, or common security questions
• They want you to pay via credit card or demand gift cards

Reporting scams or Internet crimes:

The FBI encourages victims to report suspected Internet crimes to the IC3, the Nation’s central hub for reporting cybercrime. The mission of the IC3 is to provide the public with a reliable and convenient reporting mechanism to report suspected Internet crime to the FBI and to develop effective alliances with law enforcement and industry partners to help those who report.These U.S. crimes fell the most in 2023, new FBI data shows

Police gave 10 signs that something might be a scam

• 1.) High-pressure sales or frequent calls are signs it’s a scam.
• 2.) If the caller demands an immediate decision, it’s likely a rip-off.
• 3.) People requesting a credit or debit card or any banking account information.
• 4.) If the caller offers to send someone to your home or overnight something.
• 5.) Something for free is usually a reason to be suspicious.
• 6.) Unresponsive to questions or too quick to answer by cutting you off.
• 7.) An investment without risk.
• 8.) Will not provide written information or references.
• 9.) Not registered with the Attorney General’s Office.
• 10.) If it sounds too good to be true, it often is.

Tips to prevent identity theft:

• Beware of requests for personal information via calls, texts or phishing emails
• Consider placing “fraud alerts” with credit reporting agencies like Experian, TransUnion, or Equifax
• Check your credit report regularly here.

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Avoid investment scams

• Invest carefully; search online for companies and cryptocurrency names
• Be careful around “guarantees” or big promises

Avoid impersonation scams

• Never share account passwords, social security numbers, or banking information in an email or with an unsolicited caller. Always call the bank directly and clear up any issues.
• Never click on links in pop-up boxes or text messages.
• Always get phone numbers from legitimate websites or a billing statement

Kentucky State Police said anyone who receives possible scams should contact Kentucky State Police, a local police department, or the Kentucky Office of the Attorney General at 502-696-5300 by phone or fill out a complaint form online.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has more resources for identifying and reporting scams and cybercrime.