A&M student warns of phone scam that cost her thousands - KBTX

COLLEGE STATION, Tex. (KBTX)- A Texas A&M student says she lost nearly $10,000 after a scam call last month.

Adrina Lopez, a senior studying business management, was at home studying when she got a phone call from a caller claiming to be with the U.S. government.

“He said my social security number had been misused with some drug issues in El Paso,” said Lopez.

Lopez says he threatened her and only gave two options.

"I could try to go to court and fight it on my own, or, I could do an ADR which was a secret procedure with them and it would be resolved that day,” said Lopez.

The caller rattled off a lot of Lopez’s personal information, so she says she assumed he must be with the Social Security office. That’s when she chose the ADR option.

"They made me go to my bank and get my money and then transfer it to them via bitcoin and a target gift card,” said Lopez. “Looking back, it makes sense why would they make me do that, but in the moment I was super afraid.”

It was that fear that kept Lopez on the phone with the caller for more than four hours. They threatened to call the local police if she hung up on them. When the call dropped, she panicked.

The caller called back 15 minutes later.

“I was crying, and he said ‘you need to wipe your tears and be a big girl’,” said Lopez.

The scammer got Lopez for nearly $10,000.

According to the FBI, Americans lost $50 million to phone scams in 2018.

The next morning, when her money did not return, and no one came to arrest her, Lopez says she knew she got scammed.

Now, without money to pay for rent, gas, food, and utilities, Lopez started a Gofundme to help raise back the money.

Lopez hopes her experience can save someone else.

"The fact that they can make you go through all that pain and make you believe all the lies, and you falling for that and realizing it was a lie, that's what hurts the most,” said Lopez.

If you would like to donate to Lopez, you can visit the link in the related links section.

2019-11-04 06:32:25Z
https://www.kbtx.com/content/news/AM-student-warns-of-phone-scam-that-cost-her-thousands-564326681.html