Hilton Head woman loses $130,000 in scam involving fake CIA agent, sheriff’s office says

Ben Morse
·2 min read
16

A Hilton Head woman was scammed out of $130,000 by two men claiming to be CIA agents, according to a Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office Facebook post.

The scam began in late June when the woman received a call from someone claiming to be with Amazon. The “employee” asked the women about a recent purchase, and when she said no such transaction had occurred, she was transferred to a different person, the Sheriff’s Office said..

A man identifying himself as “CIA Agent William Nelson” texted the women and after he sent her a photo of his alleged credentials, informed her that her Social Security number had been compromised and was used to make transactions in different countries, including Iran and Iraq.

“I said, ‘This sounds just like a scam,’” the woman, who is not being identified, said in an interview. “Then of course he came back with a picture of all this money that was being sent using my Social Security number.”

“Agent Nelson” informed the woman she needed to withdraw all of her money from her bank account and put it into “Federal Protective Custody.” The scammer then told the woman to meet another “CIA agent” outside the Walmart in Hardeeville.

The woman withdrew $30,000 from her bank account and bought gift cards as told by the scammer. She also took an additional $100,000 out of her account.

“I had been to several banks, and they hesitated to allow me to withdraw the money,” the woman said. “(The banks) stated ‘it sounds like a scam’, but eventually they relented and I got it.”

She put the money and gift cards in a bag and went to Walmart. A man in his 20s or 30s approached her car, took the bag and left, police said. She said the man never spoke, and she did not see whether he got into a car.

The victim said the money was from an inheritance account.

“It’s over and done with,” the woman said. “I just got to face life the way it is now and just continue going.”

The scam is currently under investigation, sheriff’s Ma. Bob Bromage said. Any potential scam victims should contact local law enforcement and report it immediately, Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office Facebook post added.