“I think I was brainwashed,” 46-year-old
Leslie Wilbanks said. “I was scared to death.”
Author: Teresa
Woodard Published: 11:03 PM CDT April 23, 2019 Updated: 11:03 PM CDT April 23, 2019
ALLEN, Texas — Leslie Wilbanks is educated.
She’s been a teacher for 22 years, the last 20 in the Allen Independent School
District. She earned a master’s degree in math education from the University of
Houston. She teaches P.E. and math.
She is smart.
But she could not outsmart the man who called
her cell phone one Thursday morning in March.
“It was 9:42 a.m. I was with a class. I looked
down at my phone and it said the call was from the U.S. government. I ignored
it, but it called back,” Wilbanks said. “I ignored it again. But I went ahead
and answered it on the third time.”
The man on the other line introduced himself as
an inspector general for the Social Security Administration.
“And he told me I had some problems. My identity
had been stolen and I needed to work with the government to protect myself,”
she said.
“And I asked him to prove he was who he said he
was,” she said. “He directed me to the social security website and sure enough
the number he was calling from matched the number on the website.”
He told her he’d have a colleague call her as
well, and that number also matched the other number on the website, “So I
thought – maybe this is legit,” Wilbanks said.
The caller told her she needed to work with him
to catch the criminal who stole her social security number. If she didn’t, she
could lose everything – her job, her health insurance, her assets – and she
would go to jail.
“I can’t lose my health insurance,” she said. “I
was scared to death.”
“He knew my banks, an approximate amount in the
two banks, and he knew my two credit cards.”
He told her the only way to safeguard her money
was to transfer it to him by putting it on gift cards. She did as she was told,
withdrawing $30,000 from her bank, and using it to buy gift cards from more
than a dozen 7-Eleven, Walmart and Target stores across Allen. She read him the
PIN codes on the cards, and he said he’d return her money the next day on an
official government-issued card.
She said he kept threatening her, telling her If
she hung up the phone or didn’t do what he said, she’d be arrested.
“At one point I had turned my car around. I was
going to go to the Allen Police Department, thinking this was a scam, a hoax,
and he goes, ‘Why are you changing directions?’” she said. "I thought he
was following me."
“I think I was brainwashed. I don’t know how he
did it, but I was brainwashed. I was scared to death.”
Fourteen hours after the ordeal began, Wilbanks
drove to her mother’s home to beg for more money.
A video doorbell captured her walking up to her
mother’s front door.
“I need help,” she said.
“What happened?” her mother, Kathy Wilbanks,
asked.
“I need to borrow money, Mom. I need $1,800
cash. I’ll explain later," Leslie answered, looking frightened and
exhausted.
“Frantic is what she was,” Kathy said.
She convinced her daughter to call police, but
the damage had been done.
Wilbanks lost about $50,000 in one day.
She’s disputing the charges on her credit card,
but she did make them and authorize them, so she’s not sure if they’ll be
considered fraud. Her bank’s fraud department is also investigating.
“What is there I can do?” she asked. “I can just
try to help other people not get cheated.”
In March, the Federal Trade Commission said more
than 60,000 Americans had fallen victim to a similar scam, collectively losing
almost $17 million.
“Don’t fall for it,” Wilbanks said. “Nobody — no
matter how much sense it seems to make — nobody is going to call you. I learned
this the hard way, people.”
If you’ve experienced this scam, the Federal
Trade Commission encourages you to report it online.
The Allen Police Department is investigating.
https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/allen-teacher-loses-50000-in-one-day-in-elaborate-social-security-scam/287-98f33483-45ff-4885-b5e8-8945cadc3cab
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