<
https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/12/14/cyber-crime-scams-irs-taxes/>
"Frances Sharples walked through the glass doors of her credit union, ready to
make the worst decision of her life.
She had a script from the man promising to save the retirement account she
built over decades as a science adviser to the U.S. government, including in
the White House.
He told her to transfer more than $600,000 — and to keep her cellphone on so he
could listen to her. If anyone asked whether she was put up to it, she was to
reply: “No, absolutely not,” according to her hand-scrawled notes. No one did.
She handed the clerk the routing number, walked back to her dented 2005 Honda
and returned home.
“Now I’m good,” she told herself. “Now, I’m safe.”
The doctorate-holding daughter of a plumber from Queens had made a life
advising the federal government on stem cells, new energy technologies and the
effects of biological weapons. Despite a history of meticulousness, Sharples
was victimized by a global network of online criminals, including a man with a
gentle Indian accent who helped make off with much of her life savings."
Via
The RISKS Digest Volume 34 Issue 1:
http://catless.ncl.ac.uk/Risks/34/1#subj33
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
