ROMEO, Mich. (WXYZ) — A 70-year-old Romeo man is sharing his story after narrowly avoiding the loss of $30,000 in an online scam, thanks to quick action by Romeo police.
Watch Simon's story in the video player below:
The victim, who asked not to be identified, said the ordeal began Monday while he was watching DIY videos on YouTube. A pop-up message appeared on his smartphone directing him to contact what appeared to be Apple support.
"It said click on this and contact Apple," the victim recalled.
After clicking the message, the man said he was told he had visited a pornography website and that his Social Security number had been compromised. He was then contacted by people posing as federal agents, who claimed his money was no longer safe in the bank.
"What was interesting was when I went to the bank and said, ' Do you need my routing and bank account number,' and they said 'no,'" he said.
The scammers allegedly sent the victim fake CIA credentials and instructed him to withdraw $30,000 in cash from his bank account. Believing the threat was legitimate, he complied.
The money was then placed inside a duct-taped box and shipped to California.
It wasn't until later that the victim became suspicious.
"I looked up one of the person's names I had been talking to and Googled it. I found out this was a scam," he said.
The man quickly contacted the Romeo Police Department.
Officer Patrick Bauer said scams like this often begin with online links designed to trick people into providing information or following instructions without verifying the source.
"If you have no one to go to, you always have your local police," Bauer said.
According to Bauer, scammers frequently create a sense of urgency and authority, pretending to represent government agencies or trusted organizations. He warns people never to click on suspicious links, never share personal information such as Social Security numbers over the phone, and never mail cash to anyone.
In this case, Bauer worked quickly to stop the shipment before it reached its destination.
"I helped him create an account for UPS. We had him put in the information. He did have to pay a fee, but he was able to stop the package and have it shipped back to his house," Bauer said.
The package was reportedly just hours from leaving for California when it was intercepted.
"The UPS said it was two hours away from being gone to California, and that would have been it," the victim said.
Police continue to work with federal authorities to identify those responsible.
Authorities are encouraging anyone who believes they may be the target of a scam to contact local law enforcement and talk with trusted family members before sending money or sharing personal information.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
