GUNNISON, Utah — Gunnison resident Maxilynn Frandsen says she’s not usually duped, but the 78-year-old said she narrowly avoided losing thousands in a scam targeting Utah seniors.
"It was really easy to fall victim," she admitted.
Frandsen received what seemed like a legitimate voicemail message from a reliable source notifying her that her bank account had been compromised.
"They gave me the idea that they already knew ... what I had in there and that somebody had tried to get it out," recalled Frandsen.
The caller gave her specific instructions to withdraw her full account in cash and bring it to an alleged FBI agent to assist.
"They told me not to tell anybody," she said, "stay on the phone with them and get my money out."
When a bank teller noticed Frandsen was acting a bit off, they notified police, who got a hold of her family. But while still on with the scammer, Maxilynn eventually took a call from her daughter as she was on her way to hand over her cash.
"I was lucky that I didn’t lose my money and come back home," she said.
Frandsen isn’t alone as the Gunnison Valley Police Department is investigating nearly a dozen similar cases, but they think there are certain things people need to watch out for.
The scammers already press their targets that they need to send the money immediately, and they always try to keep the victim on the phone so they can’t call family members to verify whether any of it is real.
"If it seems weird and they’re in a hurry, be very suspicious," explained interim Gunnison Police Chief Tyler Donaldson.
The chief said his small department investigates nearly a dozen similar cases every year.
"We’re finding that these scammers are getting more and more creative, and they’re also getting more and more detailed," he said. "The scammers were able to tell the victim exactly what the bankers were going to ask her, how the bank tellers were going to react; they coached her on what to say."
The Gunnison department is working with police in nearby Juab County to help thwart this particular scam.
"We were able to stop her en route to meet with one of the scammers," Donaldson said.
Frandsen is grateful for police and her local bank for stepping in. Now she wants to share her story to hopefully save someone else from being scammed themselves.
"So if I help somebody else, that’ll be great."
