A Pennsylvania man, Kevin Eberle, lost $35,000 in an elaborate government imposter scam involving fake Federal Trade Commission officials, remote computer access, and in-person cash exchanges. The scam began with a text message informing Eberle that he had been charged $340 for a computer protection plan.

Scam Details

The scammer claimed to be from the Federal Trade Commission and told Eberle that he had found other fraudulent charges on his account. Eberle was then instructed to download AnyDesk, a computer software program that allows remote access to a computer. Once the software was installed, the scammer accessed Eberle’s bank accounts and saw his financial details.

Eberle was told to withdraw his money for safekeeping and hand the cash to a courier in the parking lot of a nearby Walmart. He was sent a picture of a dollar bill that the courier would use to verify their identity, along with a password for the exchange. After handing over $20,000 in cash, Eberle received a picture of a check claiming to represent his money, but the check was dated for the year 2020 and was clearly artificial intelligence-generated.

Eberle also received a letter claiming to be from the Federal Trade Commission, stating that his name and financial identity were under investigation. He was then told to withdraw the remaining $15,000 in his accounts and meet another courier in the parking lot of a convenience store, which he did.

Investigation and Warning

The case is being investigated by police, and both locations where the money was exchanged had surveillance cameras. Consumer investigator Brian Roche described the scam as one of the most elaborate he has ever seen, involving impersonation of an FTC commissioner, passwords, fake letters, fake checks, and two in-person cash exchanges. Roche emphasized the key takeaway for everyone: If you’re being told to move your money to protect it, that’s a scam.

Original reporting: 40/29 / KHBS (NW Arkansas) — read the source article.