Athens man loses $40,000 in scam, but almost lost more
An Athens man had already given away $40,000 to a stranger who drove to his home and was planning to give away even more until an employee at his bank became suspicious and called police.
The 74-year-old man fell victim to a scam on Oct. 17 after he received a telephone call from a man pretending to be from the technology giant Amazon, according to Athens-Clarke police.
The con artist, who spoke with an accent, had the bad news that the man’s Social Security number was used in ways that makes it look like he was involved in criminal activity including drug trafficking and money laundering, according to the report.
The caller inquired as to how much money the man had in his bank.
About $117,000, the Athens man replied.
As part of the company's investigation, the man would have to withdraw his money.
“They told him that to make it not suspicious, he can take out small amounts,” the report reads. He was also told not tell anyone and if the bank questioned him, tell them it’s a personal matter.
The caller told him to take out $40,000, put it in a box, write his name on it, and to put it in the back seat of vehicle they were sending to his home.
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The man went to his bank on Barnett Shoals Road and withdrew $40,000 cash, then took it home and put it in a box. Later, a gray-blue older Honda car with a New Jersey tag stopped on the street. The man reported he walked to the car driven by a man about 20 to 30 years old, put the box of money in the backseat, and the car left.
The next day, the con artist called his victim again, telling him to withdraw the rest of the money except for $2,000 so as to keep the account active, according to the report.
The man when to the Synovus Bank in downtown Athens, where an employee began questioning him about the withdrawal and made a decision to call 911.
Officer Ger Xiong reported that as he questioned the victim the con artist called again. The officer got on the line and reported he believed the caller's accent was Indian as he had experience dealing with people with a Hindi accent.
During their exchange, the con artist hung up on the officer.
Having someone visit a home while perpetrating a scam is not uncommon, according to police Lt. Jody Thompson.
“Scammers use courier services like Uber and Lyft to retrieve packages from victims. Sometimes, the courier is a victim of a different scam (and) is used to ship packages from others,” he said.
Scammers often utilize numerous scams to manipulate victims to fulfill parts of the tasks needed to get the money, Thompson explained.
Police are providing patrol house checks for the Athens man, as the suspects now know where he lives.
This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Athens man loses $40K in scam; bank intercedes to stop more loss
