Grandmother scammed out of $230,000 after fraudsters claimed she was being arrested
An elderly woman has been scammed out of her life savings after fraudsters convinced her there was a warrant out for her arrest.
US grandmother Henriette Schmuhl, 74, lost a staggering $USD230,000 ($331,000) when scammers impersonating law enforcement threatened jail time if she didn't cough up cash.
The scammers called Schmuhl and told her she was being accused of money laundering and drug trafficking and, in order to clear her name, she needed to convert hundreds of thousands of dollars into Bitcoin.
Henriette Schmuhl lost $230,000 during the scam. CBS
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Schmuhl drained her life savings and retirement account over a period of several months, keeping her terrifying ordeal a secret from her family and friends.
"I was so afraid. I was so afraid. And lying," told CBS News.
The elaborate scam began when Schmuhl received a phone call out of the blue from a fake Homeland Security agent named Andrew Hall, who claimed she was facing prison time.
"'I want to let you know there is a warrant out for your arrest', the caller said. 'What?! I've never done anything'," Schmuhl recalled.
The fake agent then told Schmuhl her identity had been stolen and said she would need to move all her money out of her bank accounts to "protect" her savings.
The US grandmother was convinced she was going to be arrested. GoFundMe
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Over the next few months, she converted all of her hard-earned money into gift cards and Bitcoin. Schmuhl took out amounts ranging from $150,000 to $30,000.
"I'm saving you. I'm helping you out," Hall told her whenever she protested.
"She truly believed that this money would keep her family safe," her daughter-in-law Janelle Hutchinson said.
Once Schmuhl's bank accounts had been drained, the fake federal agent blocked her number and was no longer contactable.
The grandmother, a former accountant, finally came clean to her family, "shaking and crying" as she admitted she had been scammed.
"She showed me all the emails and texts from this person and I couldn't help but get so angry at her," Hutchinson said.
Schmuhl transferred her savings into Bitcoin. CBS
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After Schmuhl and her family contacted the North Aurora Police Department in Illinois, officers decided to get the FBI involved.
Cybersecurity experts then traced the scammers to Malta, thousands of kilometres away from her Chicago home.
Schmuhl has not yet recovered her stolen funds and has been left with just $10,000. She hopes her story will be a warning to anyone who is tempted to fall for a similar scam.
"I know how hard she's worked her entire life and for that money just to be gone completely, it breaks my heart," Hutchison added.
An investigation into the case remains open and the Social Security Administration in the US has warned callers threatening that you'll be arrested are always scammers.
