NOWCAST KSBW Action News 8 at 11 pm
Watch on Demand
Advertisement

'Pure evil': Family describes con artists who stole much of mother's life savings

Caller claimed Brookfield woman was being charged $40 a month for an Amazon purchase she didn't make
Kent Wainscott
'Pure evil': Family describes con artists who stole much of mother's life savings

Caller claimed Brookfield woman was being charged $40 a month for an Amazon purchase she didn't make

>> INITIALLY, SHE GETS AN AUTOMATED PHONE CALL. THIS IS HOW THE WHOLE THING STARTED. >> THAT CALL, CRAIG KUHARY SAYS, LURED HIS MOTHER INTO A SOPHISTICATED AND COSTLY TRAP. >> I WAS VERY UPSET THAT I FELL FOR THIS. >> MARYANN KUHARY LOST HER HUSBAND EARLIER IN THE YEAR, AND SAYS SHE MAY HAVE BEEN VULNERABLE WHEN SHE GOT THAT CALL CLAIMING SHE WAS BEING CHARGED $40 A MONTH FOR AN AMAZON PURCHASE SHE DIDN’T MAKE. >> IT IS BEING ORDERED FROM YOUR AMAZON ACCOUNT. FOUR A CALL SIMILAR TO THIS ONE POSTED BY THE FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION. >> TO CANCEL YOUR ORDER OR TO CONNECT WITH ONE OF OUR CUSTOMER SUPPORT REPRESENTATIVES, PLEASE PRESS ONE. >> IT IS BEST TO HANG OUT, AND NEVER PRESS ONE. UNFORTUNATELY, THAT IS WHAT SHE DID WAS SPEAKING WITH SOMEONE POSING AS AN AMAZON CUSTOMER SERVICE REP, AND CLAIMING TO TRY TO HELP HER GET HER $40 REFUND. ALL THE WHILE HE WAS STEALING FROM YOU? RIGHT. -- >> RIGHT. I DIDN’T KNOW THAT. >> HERE’S HOW THE SCAM WORKED. THE CALLER TOLD THAT TO CANCEL THE AUTOMATIC AMAZON CHARGE, SHE SHOULD DOWNLOAD AN APP TO HER PHONE, APPARENTLY GIVING THE THIEF ACCESS TO HER BANK ACCOUNT. THEN HE TOLD HER SHE MADE AN ERROR, AND INSTEAD OF DEPOSITING A $40 REFUND, SHE HAD ACTUALLY DEPOSITED THOUSANDS INTO HER ACCOUNT. WHAT WAS IT ABOUT THE CONVERSATION YOU HAD THAT CONVINCED YOU THAT IT WAS LEGITIMATE? >> WELL, WHEN HE SHOWED ME MY BANK ACCOUNT. >> SHE SAW MULTIPLE DEPOSITS FOR THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS EACH OR SO IT SEEMED. HER SON LATER DISCOVERED THE CON-ARTIST HAD ACTUALLY JUST TRANSFERRED MARYANN’S OWN MONEY FROM SAVINGS TO CHECKING. >> I THINK THE USE OF THE WORD EVIL IS PROBABLY THE BEST DESCRIPTION. >> FINALLY, TO CORRECT WHAT MARYANN NOW BELIEVED WAS A MULTI-THOUSAND DOLLAR ERROR, THE FAKE AMAZON REP CONVINCED HER TO REPAY THE MONEY BY WITHDRAWING STACKS OF CASH, AND BUYING NEARLY $24,000 IN GIFT CARDS. SHE THEN READ THE CARD NUMBERS TO THE THIEF, WHO STAYED ON THE PHONE, EVEN TEXTING HER INSTRUCTIONS AS SHE BOUGHT THE CARDS. >> ANYTIME SOMEONE IS ASKING YOU TO PAY IN GIFT CARDS, IT IS A SCAM. PERIOD. FULL STOP. >> LARA SUTHERLIN, WHO HEADS WISCONSIN CONSUMER PROTECTION DIVISION, SAYS AMERICANS LOSE TENS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN SCHEMES LIKE THIS EVERY YEAR. BOTH AMAZON AND THE FTC POST WARNINGS ABOUT THIS SCAM ON THEIR WEBSITES. BUT AMAZON URGES VICTIMS TO REPORT THE FRAUD TO THE FTC, WHILE THE FTC RECOMMENDS CONTACTING AMAZON. MARYANN’S CHILDREN REPORTED THE SCAM TO HER BANK AND THE THE TOWN OF BROOKFIELD POLICE. BUT SUTHERLIN SAYS BECAUSE THE SCAM ORIGINATES OUT OF THE COUNTRY, THERE’S LITTLE RECOURSE. IS THERE ANYTHING THAT SOMEONE WHO HAS BEEN VICTIMIZED IN THIS CASE CAN DO? >> ONCE THAT MONEY IS GONE, IT’S REALLY HARD TO UN-RING THAT BELL. >> THE BEST DEFENSE, SHE SAYS, IS TO MAKE PEOPLE AWARE. >> AND WE’RE SUPER HAPPY THAT THEY ACTUALLY REACHED OUT TO YOU AND YOU’RE DOING A STORY ABOUT THIS, BECAUSE THAT IS REALLY THE BEST WAY TO GET AHEAD OF THESE THINGS. >> MARYANN SAYS SHE HOPES HER EXPERIENCE WILL HELP PROTECT OTHERS. >> SO I JUST FELL, I FELL FOR IT. I BELIEVED IN IT. I JUST DON’T WANT ANYBO
Advertisement
'Pure evil': Family describes con artists who stole much of mother's life savings

Caller claimed Brookfield woman was being charged $40 a month for an Amazon purchase she didn't make
Kent Wainscott
A phone call last month lured a Wisconsin woman into a sophisticated and costly trap that cost her half her life savings. "Initially, she gets an automated phone call. This is how the whole thing started," Craig Kuhary said. "I was very upset that I fell for this," Maryann Kuhary, of Brookfield, told sister station WISN-TV.She had lost her husband earlier in the year and said she may have been vulnerable when she got that call claiming she was being charged $40 a month for an Amazon purchase she didn't make. On its website, the Federal Trade Commission has posted warnings about the scam including recordings of a voice message saying, "(an item) ... is being ordered from your Amazon account. To cancel your order or to connect with one of our customer support representatives, please press 1..."Consumer protection experts told WISN-TV that it's best to just hang up on robocalls like that, and never press one to speak with someone. But, unfortunately, Kuhary did, and ended up speaking with someone posing as an Amazon customer service representative, who claimed to try to help her get her $40 refund. Unbeknownst to Kuhary, he was stealing from her.Here's how the phishing scam worked. The caller told Kuhary that in order to cancel the automatic Amazon charge, she should download an app to her phone, which the thief sent to her, apparently giving the thief access to her bank account.Then, he told her that she made an error, and instead of depositing a $40 refund, she had actually deposited thousands into her account. When asked what convinced her that the call and caller were legitimate, Kuhary replied, "Well, when he showed me my bank account."Kuhary checked her account and saw multiple deposits for thousands of dollars each, or so it seemed. Her son later discovered the con-artist had actually just transferred Kuhary's own money from savings to checking.Craig Kuhary said, "I think the use of the word 'evil' is probably the best description," of the scam.Finally, to correct what Kuhary now believed was a multi-thousand dollar error, the fake Amazon representative convinced her to repay the money by withdrawing large amounts of cash and buying nearly $24,000 worth of gift cards. She then read the card numbers to the thief, who stayed on the phone, even texting her instructions as she bought the cards. "Anytime someone is asking you to pay in gift cards, it is a scam. Period. Full stop," said Lara Sutherlin, who heads Wisconsin's Consumer Protection Division. Sutherlin said Americans lose tens of millions of dollars in schemes like this every year. Both Amazon and the FTC post warnings about this scam on their websites. Amazon urges victims to report the fraud to the FTC, while the FTC recommends contacting Amazon. Kuhary's children reported the scam to her bank and to the Town of Brookfield police. But Sutherlin said because the scam originates out of the country, there's little recourse."Once that money is gone, it's really hard to unring that bell," Sutherlin says. "We're super happy that they actually reached out to (WISN-TV), and you're doing a story about this because that is really the best way to get ahead of these things." Kuhary said she hopes her experience will help protect others."I just fell, I fell for it. I believed in it. And I just don't want anybody to have that happen."If you suspect that you or a loved one is the victim of an online phishing or phone scam, you can file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission. You can also check with state authorities about filing a complaint.

A phone call last month lured a Wisconsin woman into a sophisticated and costly trap that cost her half her life savings.

Advertisement

"Initially, she gets an automated phone call. This is how the whole thing started," Craig Kuhary said.

"I was very upset that I fell for this," Maryann Kuhary, of Brookfield, told sister station WISN-TV.

She had lost her husband earlier in the year and said she may have been vulnerable when she got that call claiming she was being charged $40 a month for an Amazon purchase she didn't make.

On its website, the Federal Trade Commission has posted warnings about the scam including recordings of a voice message saying, "(an item) ... is being ordered from your Amazon account. To cancel your order or to connect with one of our customer support representatives, please press 1..."

Consumer protection experts told WISN-TV that it's best to just hang up on robocalls like that, and never press one to speak with someone. But, unfortunately, Kuhary did, and ended up speaking with someone posing as an Amazon customer service representative, who claimed to try to help her get her $40 refund. Unbeknownst to Kuhary, he was stealing from her.

Here's how the phishing scam worked. The caller told Kuhary that in order to cancel the automatic Amazon charge, she should download an app to her phone, which the thief sent to her, apparently giving the thief access to her bank account.

Then, he told her that she made an error, and instead of depositing a $40 refund, she had actually deposited thousands into her account.

When asked what convinced her that the call and caller were legitimate, Kuhary replied, "Well, when he showed me my bank account."

Kuhary checked her account and saw multiple deposits for thousands of dollars each, or so it seemed. Her son later discovered the con-artist had actually just transferred Kuhary's own money from savings to checking.

Craig Kuhary said, "I think the use of the word 'evil' is probably the best description," of the scam.

Finally, to correct what Kuhary now believed was a multi-thousand dollar error, the fake Amazon representative convinced her to repay the money by withdrawing large amounts of cash and buying nearly $24,000 worth of gift cards.

She then read the card numbers to the thief, who stayed on the phone, even texting her instructions as she bought the cards.

"Anytime someone is asking you to pay in gift cards, it is a scam. Period. Full stop," said Lara Sutherlin, who heads Wisconsin's Consumer Protection Division.

Sutherlin said Americans lose tens of millions of dollars in schemes like this every year. Both Amazon and the FTC post warnings about this scam on their websites. Amazon urges victims to report the fraud to the FTC, while the FTC recommends contacting Amazon. Kuhary's children reported the scam to her bank and to the Town of Brookfield police. But Sutherlin said because the scam originates out of the country, there's little recourse.

"Once that money is gone, it's really hard to unring that bell," Sutherlin says. "We're super happy that they actually reached out to (WISN-TV), and you're doing a story about this because that is really the best way to get ahead of these things."

Kuhary said she hopes her experience will help protect others.

"I just fell, I fell for it. I believed in it. And I just don't want anybody to have that happen."

If you suspect that you or a loved one is the victim of an online phishing or phone scam, you can file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission. You can also check with state authorities about filing a complaint.