A retired man in São José do Rio Preto, Brazil, fell victim to a scam, losing R$ 50,000 after mistakenly believing he was helping his son with bill payments.
In a concerning incident in São José do Rio Preto, a 61-year-old retired man lost R$ 50,000 after being deceived by a scammer posing as his son. The retired man received a message from the alleged scammer, who claimed to have changed his phone number and requested assistance in paying some bills. Trusting the message, the victim proceeded to make transfers totaling R$ 51,000, as per the bills he received from the scammer.
It was only after making the payments that the retired man grew suspicious and decided to confirm the information with his son through a previous phone number. Upon contacting his son, he discovered that his son had not changed his number nor requested any help with bill payments. This realization prompted the man to report the incident to the police, leading to the filing of a report at the Central de Flagrantes, categorizing the crime as fraud or estelionato.
This incident highlights the growing issue of online scams and the methods fraudsters employ to exploit their victims' trust, particularly targeting older individuals who may be more vulnerable to such deception. The police urge citizens to remain vigilant and to verify information before acting on requests that involve money transactions, especially when they originate from unexpected or unverified sources.
