PEORIA, AZ — Seventy-six-year-old Jean Ullery is finding strength through family. She opened up to ABC15 about recently being scammed out of her and her husband's life savings — $163,000.
"Just hearing this today makes it hurt again," says Ullery, who was targeted by scammers. "I just opened it, and it was a disaster."
In early February, Ullery tells us she was on her laptop going through her email when a pop-up, claiming to be from Microsoft, appeared on her screen. It stated she had to call a specific phone number due to something being "found" on her computer.
"I was terrified when they were talking about child porn," says Ullery.
But it was not true — just part of the scam. The scammers then demanded she pay a fine, otherwise, she and her husband would both go to prison.
"She wasn't allowed to tell anybody. They threatened her to, you know, 'don't tell your family, you know, you'll go to jail,' or anything they could say to keep her scared," says JR Ullery, the victim's son.
The scammers got ahold of Ullery's printer and instructed her to take out small increments of money from her bank account. They told her to drive to a local vape shop where she would need to transfer it through Bitcoin.
"I would tell them, 'I don't like to drive in the dark,' and they would say things like, 'how's your husband doing?' Things like that," says Ullery.
Our Let Joe Know Team has investigated this type of scare tactic in the past. Dr. Emily Bashah, a licensed psychologist, says scammers target a part of your brain that processes emotions.
"Often fear is going to amplify people's responses. Con artists will act as an impersonator. They will impersonate law enforcement, they'll impersonate doctors, will impersonate your bank," says Dr. Bashah.
The FBI just released the 2022 Elder Fraud Report, which showed more than 88,000 victims were over the age of 60. There were 3,500 in Arizona alone, with a total state loss of more than $82 million.
"My best advice is, get to know your banker. Come in and let us do an analysis of your account... how you spend your money, you know, your trends, so that we know if we see something that's not right, then it's not right," says Aimy Edwards, branch manager with Washington Federal Bank.
Ullery's bank did give her a call, asking about the unusual charge, but she says she was too scared to say anything at first.
"They can make a lot of money by taking it from someone else and they don't even have to use a gun or a knife or anything. They just use the phone," says Ullery.
Her son found out after the scam had already gone on for a month. They have since reported the crime to Peoria Police Department and the FBI but her money is likely gone for good.
"Since I'm still afraid... if somebody calls and tells me something, I'll say, 'give me a number and I'll call you back,'" says Ullery.
Ullery's friends and family have started a fundraiser to support her. If you would like to donate, go here.
