Joanne thought she was careful about the internet and technology, but by the end of the day July 6, the 93-year-old was exhausted and had been defrauded of $15,000.

Like too many seniors, the mother of two and grandmother of two fell victim to fraudsters.

Joanne sat down at her computer that morning to do some online banking.

91裸聊视频淚 was trying to get into the computer, and it was coming up with some odd things,91裸聊视频� she said.

What appeared to be virus protection was sending warnings.

91裸聊视频淎ll the signs looked legit,91裸聊视频� she explained.

Then the phone rang, claiming to be Coast Capital Savings fraud division and that two new accounts had been opened in her name.

One account contained $1,764 and the other had $2,679.

The cellphone showed the call coming from Coast Capital, but Joanne has since learned that scammers can manipulate call display.

The caller said they needed Joanne91裸聊视频檚 help to catch the fraudsters 91裸聊视频渁nd they had to be very secretive,91裸聊视频� she said. For every question she had, they seemed to have a sensible answer.

The Cloverdale resident was counselled not to tell anyone what she was doing because they didn91裸聊视频檛 know if the fraud was being committed by someone in the credit union.

To help catch the 91裸聊视频榝raudsters91裸聊视频� Joanne was asked to transfer around money.

91裸聊视频淚 was instructed to transfer $20,000 from my savings to checking,91裸聊视频� she explained.

Then she was to withdraw the cash.

91裸聊视频淚 was to have them on the phone the whole time,91裸聊视频� she said.

Joanne went to her credit union branch where the staff questioned her withdrawal.

91裸聊视频淚 was told to say [the large withdrawal] was for personal use,91裸聊视频� she explained.

There were two scammers through the day 91裸聊视频� Syd and Sophia 91裸聊视频� who kept her occupied and what she later realized was in an emotional whirlwind that didn91裸聊视频檛 allow her to think straight.

91裸聊视频淵ou don91裸聊视频檛 have a minute to double check,91裸聊视频� she commented.

The scammers coached her on how to take photos with her cellphone and had her send pictures of her driver91裸聊视频檚 licence.

Joanne thought the threat to her was because of the large amount of cash she had on her, not the person on the other end of the phone.

Back in her car with the withdrawal, she was told to go to a Cloverdale Circle K and put the money in a bitcoin machine. The store clerk tried to warn her.

91裸聊视频淭he gentleman at the store said 91裸聊视频榤am, you are being scammed91裸聊视频�,91裸聊视频� she said.

Joanne91裸聊视频檚 unfamiliarity with bitcoin may have saved some of her money. Throughout it all the scammers said her money was safe and she would get it back, even when she questioned putting thousands into a bitcoin machine.

91裸聊视频淎nytime I questioned, [the reply was] 91裸聊视频榙on91裸聊视频檛 worry. You will be able to access your money91裸聊视频�,91裸聊视频� she said.

The scammers had told Joanne to destroy bitcoin and other receipts. She crumpled them but then decided to keep them, since they were the only proof she had that she had deposited the money as instructed.

She was only able to put in $10,000 then had trouble with the machine. The scammers told her to go to the Circle K in Willoughby to submit the rest. She put in $5,000 before having trouble with that machine. She was going to put in the remaining $5,000 in the morning.

What started out at about 9:30 a.m. had dragged on until almost dinnertime.

91裸聊视频淭hey just wore me out. I hadn91裸聊视频檛 eaten,91裸聊视频� she said.

Joanne said she was stopping to call her daughter, a daily evening practice. The scammers told her not to but she said if she didn91裸聊视频檛, her daughter would be suspicious.

Joanne called her daughter, Jennifer, who was out to dinner with a friend.

91裸聊视频淚 asked where she was and she said she couldn91裸聊视频檛 talk about it but not to worry, she would explain later,91裸聊视频� Jennifer said.

Joanne91裸聊视频檚 reply immediately set off alarm bells for Jennifer.

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Her daughter went to her mom91裸聊视频檚 apartment but Joanne wasn91裸聊视频檛 home yet.

91裸聊视频淚 thought maybe she was with the police,91裸聊视频� Jennifer said.

That91裸聊视频檚 because of what she saw on her mother91裸聊视频檚 dining room table 91裸聊视频� papers about banking and fraud. Jennifer also looked on her mom91裸聊视频檚 computer.

91裸聊视频淭he first thing that popped up was 91裸聊视频榖itcoin91裸聊视频�,91裸聊视频� she said. 91裸聊视频淎nd I knew something was really wrong.91裸聊视频�

She phoned the police looking for her mom who arrived home about that time and still maintained that she could not tell her daughter what was going on. So Jennifer put the police on speaker and they confirmed that Joanne had been scammed.

91裸聊视频淣ope, nope, nope. She was adamant,91裸聊视频� Jennifer said about her mom.

The police advised her to turn off the computer and freeze all financial accounts. By now it was about 7:45 p.m. and the financial institutions were closed. Her one bit of luck that day was managing to catch someone at the telephone banking office just about to leave for the day. But that person stayed and froze her accounts.

Joanne was finally able to admit to herself that she had been defrauded.

The police said they could do nothing about it.

91裸聊视频淭hat broke my heart,91裸聊视频� she said.

She went to her credit union the next day, and while it is doing an investigation, said it would not provide her with the results. She was told that if someone calls claiming to be from a financial instituion, to hang up and call it directly and ask if anyone was trying to get in touch.

Joanne took her computer in and was told it had two viruses, that seems to be the scammers way to get at her.

She still has texts on her phone from the scammers about the great job she was doing.

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Joanne is typical of many seniors 91裸聊视频� she91裸聊视频檚 lived a full life and is not a stupid person.

91裸聊视频淚 worked in an office, and I ran a business,91裸聊视频� she explained.

But she was blindsided by people who hone their scamming skills because it pays off when they can get easy money from seniors. It took years for her to save that much money.

She worked hard all her life with the goal of having security in her senior years.

91裸聊视频淚 worked hard for my money, and that91裸聊视频檚 why it hurts all the more,91裸聊视频� she said.

Being scammed, she admitted, has shaken her to her core. It91裸聊视频檚 why she91裸聊视频檚 asked that her real name not be used. She91裸聊视频檚 suffered from depression and several bouts of crying since the incident.

In hindsight, what would have pulled her back to reality and prevented the fraud?

Joanne said probably nothing.

91裸聊视频淚 just felt like I was in a stupor,91裸聊视频� she said.

She91裸聊视频檚 hoping sharing her tale will set off some alarms for others when they are targeted by scammers.

91裸聊视频淭hey91裸聊视频檙e so convincing,91裸聊视频� she said.

Joanne suggests staying off the computer and have it examined by experts for viruses. She also advises people to question everything.

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