75-year-old Michigan woman loses $35K+ in PayPal scam
INDIA - 2022/03/31: In this photo illustration, a Paypal logo seen displayed on a Smartphone with a background of American dollar currency notes. (Photo Illustration by Avishek Das/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
TROY, Mich. (FOX 2) - An email from a scammer claiming to be from PayPal led to a Troy woman losing more than $35,000.
According to Troy police, officers were notified last weekend that a 75-year-old woman had fallen victim to an email scam and didn't realize it was a scam until she sent thousands of dollars to others.
The victim received an email that said it was from PayPal. According to police, the email directed her to call a number regarding an overpayment. When she called, she was told that she had accidentally been issued a refund of $36,919 instead of $369.19, and she needed to pay that money back.
The woman sent $3,000 in Apple gift cards, $900 in Bitcoin, and a cashier's check for $32,000 before realizing it was a scam. She is now trying to stop the cashier's check.
Tips for spotting email scams
If you receive an email claiming you owe money, do not click any links or call any numbers in the email.
Instead, go to the company's website directly to access your account or find a contact number to reach out and find out if the email was legitimate.
Find more tips below. (Can't see the document? Click here.)